


A Basket of Passion Fruits

by nyaikou



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2001), Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance, Shoujo, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:22:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24718231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyaikou/pseuds/nyaikou
Summary: After her parents death, Rainie Asami is given a home by the Sohmas and has a secret that is discovered by Akito. He sends her to go live with Shigure, Yuki, Kyo and Tohru on one condition: she doesn't fall in love or her life will be ruined.
Relationships: Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou, Sohma Yuki/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1: Rainie's Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Written back in 2007. Please check out my spicy food website - Nyam with Ny (http://www.nyamwithny.com)

"Rainie, wake up." Rainie awoke and opened her eyes, she looked outside the car window which continued to drive past a local town and into the forest. "We're here now."

The whole time her eyes were focused on her new surroundings of the rural town she was going to live in. The black car stopped upon arriving at the destination of a large house surrounded by trees. "You may go." The man next to her, Akito spoke softly.

"Akito?" Rainie said to the man sitting opposite her in the limo.

"What is it?" He answered.

She looked down for a while and then back up at the dark-haired guy. "Thank you for everything and…goodbye."

She turned to open the door when she felt Akito grab her arm. "Wait." He ordered. "Whatever you do Rainie, do not get to close to Kyo or Yuki. Otherwise, you know what will happen."

Releasing her arm, Akito watched as she walked away from him, she feared him, all the Sohmas feared Akito Sohma. Not only was he the head of the Sohma family but he had hurt so many physically that it made other family members terrified of Akito, all they could do was listen to what he told them to do and respect his wishes.

Much like Rainie had been doing, she got involved with the Sohma family two months ago. She could still remember that day when Akito bought her in to the family along with finding out about the zodiac.

**-Flashback: Two Months Ago-**

_Rainie sat in an empty room; in front of her two men and watched as they talked while she waited for one of them to say something. One had long black hair and she knew it was Akito and the other she had no idea. He looked like Akito only his dark hair was covering his left eye. When they finished talking, they looked at her._

_The guy walked away from Akito and sat down in front of Rainie but moved sideways so Akito could also see her._ " _Rainie, my name is Hatori Sohma." The other man said then looked at Akito who nodded. "Maybe we should show you our secret." Rainie looked at him, who pulled her quickly for a hug and waited; nothing happened._

" _What? I didn't transform!" Hatori said Akito as he let go of her._

" _I noticed that." He answered him getting up. "You see, she is different – I could sense it when I took her hand."_

" _What? How do you—" Rainie whispered attracting the attention of the two._

" _We have a curse, you see. The Curse of the Zodiac. When we are hugged by the opposite sex or if our bodies are under a great deal of stress we transform into an animal of the Chinese Zodiac, I would have turned into a seahorse you see but…"_

" _You didn't because of my secret?" She finished the sentence as Hatori nodded. Akito got up and walked over to Rainie._

" _Whatever you curse is must be similar to ours. Maybe this will help." He said._

_Rainie shook her head furiously and jumped up quickly. "NO! PLEASE WAIT!" But Akito still blew on the whistle causing Rainie to scream._

**-End of Flashback-**

Keeping Rainie's secret, Akito and Hatori promised to look after Rainie from then on but she worked as a maid to earn her pay and was home-schooled by Hatori. Although at first Akito was nice and friendly, Rainie soon began to see who he truly was. Now, Akito wanted Rainie to live in Shigure's house for it was Hatori who noticed she was always miserable around the Sohma household. He knew that living in Shigure's house she could keep friends with the three teenagers who were also the same age as hers. Maybe then she could have a better life.

Rainie soon begin feeling uncomfortable as she knocked on the door. Who were these two boys, Kyo and Yuki that Akito spoke of? Not only would that Rainie would be living with three boys but also a girl. Rainie had heard from Hatori that she was also knew the secret too.

She waited for a while and suddenly, the door opened instantly to a tall dark-haired guy smiling at her, Rainie was a little alarmed at how fast he opened the door but she simply smiled back and bowed slightly.

"Hello, I am Rainie Asami. I stayed at the Main Sohma house; I think Akito told you about me."

He nodded. "Yes, it's nice to meet you. I'm Shigure Sohma; my zodiac animal is the dog."

Rainie smiled. "Really? I'm the year of the dog." Shigure grinned. "Please come in, the others should be here soon." He moved aside, beckoning Rainie in, then closed the door behind her and showing her to a small room.

She sat down on a small cushion while waiting for Shigure who came a few minutes later with some tea and sat opposite her. Rainie thanked him and took a sip. "So Rainie," He said, sipping his tea. "How much do you know about the Zodiac Curse?"

Rainie thought for a while before answering. "I know very little. The story and that Hatori turns into a dragon or a seahorse, that's what he told me. That's all. The rest of the time I was home-schooled."

Shigure nodded. "I see, well then you will learn quite a lot here." He put his cup down and sighed. "Yuki is the rat and Kyo is the cat – the animal left out of the zodiac so you will see them fight at times. But on to a different matter, Hatori also tells me when you touched him, he didn't transform. Why is that?"

"Um…well…" The sound of a door closing stopped Rainie from talking and made her a sigh with relief. She could hear the voice of two boys arguing.

"Get out of my way, rat boy!" One boy shouted.

"Be quiet, you stupid cat! We have a guest here, remember?" She heard the other say, he sounded calmer than the first. Akito also told Rainie that there was another girl who also knew about the zodiac but she couldn't hear her. Could it be the two boys Akito was talking about?

"Ah! The cavalry have arrived!" Shigure said out aloud. The door slid open and a boy with purple hair came in and looked at Rainie. The boy was tall like Shigure but a bit shorter than him He was wearing his school uniform and smiling at her. _He's cute_. They stared at each other before Rainie got up and bowed at him.

"Hello, I'm Rainie Asami. Nice to meet you." She felt a hand on her back as she got up quickly; she looked to see it was Shigure.

"You know, you don't have to do that every time you meet someone. Just shake hands with them, ok?" She nodded at him and shook his hand then looked back at him while playing with her hair, blushing. The boy's violet eyes stared back at her.

"So you must be…Kyo?" She asked. The boy looked at her shocked as Shigure laughed.

"No, this isn't Kyo."

The purple-haired boy smiled at her and shook his head. "No I'm afraid I'm not. Kyo is upstairs, but my name is Yuki Sohma. If you will excuse me, I will just go get him."

But Shigure stopped him, grabbing his shoulder. "Why don't you keep Rainie company for now? I'll get Kyo. Would you like anything to drink, Rainie?"

"A glass of water if that's ok." Shigure nodded and winked at Yuki before leaving.

Yuki turned back to Rainie and looked at her.

In his eyes, she was attractive; Rainie had emerald-green eyes that stared innocently at him and ebony black hair that shone in the sunlight from the windows. She wore a black and white layered skirt with a green long-sleeved top. Her features were ordinary but Yuki thought she seemed like one of those quiet and kind girls but for some reason, Rainie was different, much more different than Ms Honda.

Rainie could only blush as he stared at her. He was good-looking and the more he looked at her, the more butterflies she would in her stomach. She lowered her head to hide it. "Um…Yuki?" She asked.

"Yeah?" He quickly looked at her eyes.

"Akito told me…there was another girl living here. Where is she?"

"Oh, you mean Miss Honda, she is going to be working late tonight but you may see her tomorrow ok?"

Reika was slightly confused. "Ms Honda?" Before he could explain, Shigure had come back with the other boy; he looked much different than Shigure or Yuki. This boy had orange hair and red eyes; Rainie thought he looked like one of those boys who were a rule breaker because his attitude seemed pretty bad.

"Here, Rainie." He gave her the water and she thanked him, taking a sip and then drinking every last drop in seconds, surprising the others. "My, if only I could get Kyo and Yuki to drink more water like you."

Kyo and Yuki glared at him. Shigure coughed and avoided their stares. "Maybe you should introduce yourself. I'm sure your new friend would love to meet you." Rainie could tell Shigure was teasing him but this 'Kyo', he looked mad.

"Hey!" He shouted. "Just because I live here from now on, doesn't mean you can tease me, ok?" He took a deep breath and walked forward to Rainie; she felt somewhat nervous and bowed a little.

"Hello, I'm Rainie Asami. It's nice to meet you, um…"

"…Kyo, so you're the girl Akito sent?" Kyo finished her sentence without even smiling; he sat on the cushion and folded his arms. Rainie nodded at his question. Already, the ebony-haired girl's impression of Kyo was that he was a loud and easily tempered person while Yuki Sohma seemed to be a more kind and well-mannered character.

"One question?" Yuki asked.

"Yes?"

"Do your parents know you're here or…?"

Rainie lowered her head and sighed. "They died two months ago."

"Oh, what happened?" Kyo said making Yuki slap him on the back of his head. "You stupid cat! Don't you have any respect at all?"

Shigure folded his arms and whispered to himself. "Akito never told me this before."

Rainie sighed. "It's ok." She smiled to them. "I get that a lot so I don't mind telling you what happened." For some reason, Yuki smiled back at her; most people would be sulky, upset or frown at this but Rainie seemed to not care much. She began to close her eyes, remembering the day when she found out.

**-Flashback: School Corridor-**

" _Flight A-37 crashed this morning halfway to America along with your parents." A teacher told her in the corridor. Rainie thought it was just a normal day for her as usual, she knew her parents were going to America on a business trip for the week, trusting Rainie to be left alone but she didn't think anything like this would happen to her._

_The teacher put a hand on her shoulder. "You may go home if you like." Rainie looked up at the teacher, her emerald eyes spilling tears out of her eyes. Without a word, she ran away in tears out of the school, it rained that day. Rainie wandered around the streets, soaking wet with tears falling from her eyes._

_It wasn't until she stopped in the middle of the streets that Rainie broke out in tears. She fell into a puddle and cried. She looked up to see a dark-haired man stood in front of Rainie, watching her lie there for a second, Rainie had noticed him but was a little alarmed by his presence. Then he took off his jacket and whispered in her ear._

" _Don't be afraid of me."_

" _Why not? What do you want?" Rainie whispered back. "My name is Akito Sohma and I think we both have a secret, I can see it in your eyes. Why don't you come with me and I will tell you." She turned to him._

" _Why should I trust you?" Akito smiled and held a small green and blue colored whistle. It was hers; it must have dropped out of her pocket when she tripped. Rainie tried to take it from him but he stood up and put it in his own. Akito put his hand out to her._

" _Don't be afraid, uh…"_

_Rainie put her hand on his. "…Rainie, Asami Rainie."_

**-End of Flashback-**

After Rainie finished, there was a long pause. Shigure stood there thinking to himself; Hatori hadn't told him about this. Yuki lowered his head thinking it was his fault for asking her about Rainie's parents. "Maybe I should take our guest to her room?"

"How kind of you, Kyo!" Shigure said cheerfully. "Rainie, Kyo is going to be a gentleman and take you to your room, he's not like that, you know? He may have a thing for y…"

Kyo yelled. "Can't you be quiet for one second?" Rainie watched as he quickly walked away, she came to her senses and followed him upstairs to a room without a word.

It was bigger than Rainie's room at the main Sohma house; it looked cozy and had a pink bed near the window.

"You'll be sleeping in the same room as Tohru ok?" _Tohru – that must be the girl Yuki was talking about._ Rainie thought to herself, she looked at him – he looked like he was struggling to say something.

"And, Rainie…I'm…"

"Hmmm…" She said quickly.

Kyo sighed. "I'm sorry…for asking about your parents…it was none of my business." Rainie lowered her head as if she was the one who should be apologizing.

"Oh that." There was a pause. "It's ok, forget tha—" The door closed as Rainie sighed. _I only hope he's not more like this._ She turned around and looked at her room that she would sharing with Tohru Honda,

Rainie could only wondered – _what did she look like? Was she nice or rude?_ Among her thoughts, she noticed a picture of a woman smiling. She had blonde short hair and was making a 'peace' sign with her hands. _Is this her?_ The door opened, startling Rainie a little but she still held onto the picture looking at the young girl, about her age staring at her.

"I'm…sorry, I was only looking." She quickly put the picture down and lowered her head. Why did she keep doing that when Shigure said she should stop? The girl patted on her head softly.

"It's ok." She grinned. "It's ok to be curious once a while. It's a picture of my mother by the way." She looked at it before sitting down on her bed. "You must be Rainie, I'm Tohru by the way; it's nice to meet you. Do you mind if I call you Rainie-kun? You can call me Tohru-kun if you like."

Rainie smiled, she was so nice. "Sure."

"It's good to have another girl living here too; it was sort of lonely not being able to talk to another girl about this." Tohru told her. "So you lived in the main house right?"

Just then, Yuki came through the door. "Tohru, is it possible you can start making some food please? Kyo is starting to get hungry." He winked at Rainie making her blush.

"Sure and Rainie will help me, won't you?" Rainie looked at Tohru and smiled. "Sure."

Once Yuki closed the door, Tohru got up from her bed and made her way to the door. "You can be more relaxed ok? Oh, and I picked up your school uniform for you since we have a school in the morning."

"Come downstairs when you're ready ok?" Then Tohru closed the door leaving Rainie standing there. _School_ – Rainie hadn't been to a public school in two months, she felt pretty nervous again. Hatori was the one who told her old school she was leaving to be home-schooled and he told Rainie that some of old her friends were devastated but didn't really care. Could it happen here?

One thing she didn't want to happen was if any of them discovered who she really was. Yes, that was what she hoped did not happen. The whistle was not in the house so she was ok – for now.

Walking downstairs, she could hear whispers. _"I like her but it's like she's hiding something."_ She heard Yuki say.

" _Yeah, with all the bowing – what's with that?"_ Kyo replied.

" _It's called common curtsey or manners which you don't have, you stupid cat!"_

" _You're asking for a fight, rat boy!"_

" _Stop it you two or she will hear you. Hatori told me several times when she jumped into him, he didn't transform. So, she has never seen a Sohma change – she may have the same curse."_

There was a long pause until Yuki said. _"Forget it for now. She's just might be pretty quiet because she's shy."_

Tohru emerged from the door and was now making her way to the kitchen. "Rainie-kun, can you help me cook?" Upon hearing this, she quickly made her way downstairs and answered back. "I'm coming!" Rainie opened the kitchen door to a smiling Tohru wearing a white apron and handing her a spare one.

She put on a brave smile and clapped her hands together. "Ok, let's get going!"


	2. First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Reika was singing is by Utada Hikaru – Flavor of Life and I would recommend it to anyone to listen to the song, you will love it if you are also an Utada Hikaru fan.

The next day, Rainie and the others headed off to school, while Yuki and Tohru walked ahead talking, Kyo and Rainie were behind them, watching them quietly. She was pretty nervous to go back to her went to school. Rainie wished she had interacted with Kyo a little better last night but that was only because he and Yuki were having another – let's say – disagreement. She wondered why; maybe they just didn't get along very well?

"Are you nervous, Rainie?" Tohru asked. This time she faced the ebony-haired girl and smiling kindly at her as did Yuki. Rainie nodded numbly.

"Don't be," Tohru informed her while trying to cheer her up and placing her arm over Rainie's shoulder. "It will be fine; you'll get my friends, Uo and Hana."

"Don't forget Momiji and Haru," Yuki informed them turning around. "They're also Sohmas and part of the zodiac."

"Ah, what's there to be nervous about?! That's just stupid!" Kyo yelled making Rainie looked at him stunned. Yuki slapped his head making him stop talking and rub his head.

"You stupid cat, apologize." Kyo muttered something under his breath before turning to Rainie. "Look, you'll be fine ok? And if any kid is rude, just let me know ok?" Rainie nodded and realized something. She remembered the conversation she had with Yuki.

-Flashback: Last Night-

Rainie was busy washing the dishes when Yuki came to see her. "Your ok?" He asked her, she nodded without saying a word.

"Oh, ok." He replied and then turned to leave.

"Yuki?" She called, turning her head to him.

"Yeah?"

"Does Kyo have a hard time talking to others?" Yuki turned around and then nodded at her. "I guess you could say it like that."

He walked up to her and watched Rainie as he talked. "So you've noticed...well, Kyo has very few social skills. He is short-tempered and rude but what I've noticed," He put his head up to the ceiling. "…is that he is trying to be nicer to you and Tohru, have you noticed?"

Rainie nodded at him, so she was right about Kyo…

-End of Flashback-

That's what she had managed to gather and a little of what Yuki told her. He smiled. "That's better." Tohru past them spotting to girls and waving to them who waved back at them.

"Come on Rainie; let me introduce you to two of my friends." She told her grabbing her arm and pulling her to the tree where the two girls were. One had long blonde hair and looked like a Yankee and the other girl looked scarier like she was a witch.

"Rainie, I'd like you to meet my two best friends; this is Arisa Uotani." She pointed at the scary-looking girl and nodded at her. "And this is Saki Hanajima." The other blonde girl who looked pretty tough nodded too. "This is Rainie Asami."

"It's nice to meet you." She said quietly, nodding back at them. "So, you live with the Sohmas too?" Saki asked.

"Yes." She answered quietly, smiling at her.

"Don't talk that much, do you? Well, I hope you're not a tyrant like orange top over there." The blonde-haired girl pointed to Kyo who was walking towards her along with Yuki, he looked mad at what Uo had just called him.

"What did you just call me, Yankee?!" Kyo asked angrily. But before she could argue with him, the bell went making them both sigh and go their separate ways.

"Come on Rainie, we've got class." Tohru told, Rainie followed her. They began to walk down the hallway with Uo, Saki, Kyo and Yuki behind them. Boys stopped to look at the new girl and whistled at her. Reika felt a sudden shade of red in her cheeks. This has never happened before to me.

The first class was music; Kyo, Uo and Saki were in the same class as Tohru and Rainie. Rainie stood by a chair next to Kyo and looked at him. He was busy making comments at Uo while Tohru and Saki were talking. "Kyo, is someone sitting next to you?"

"Go ahead." He mumbled as she sat down.

"You're so cold-hearted, orange top! You could at least smile or…are you afraid your face will crack!" Uo sniggered, but before Kyo could say something, the teacher came.

The music teacher wanted someone to come up and sing but no-one offered. "How about you?" The teacher pointed to Rainie, startling her. She pointed to herself and the teacher nodded. Rainie was nervous but on the other hand, she wanted to do sing again. She got up and nodded at the teacher who walked over to the piano.

Rainie proceeded forward to the front of the class, nervous as she was, there was one thing she loved and it was singing. She whispered something to the teacher and nodded back at her. Rainie took a deep breath and began to sing.

Arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai  
sayonara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai

The Flavor of Life

tomodachi demo koibito demo nai chuukan chiten de  
shuukaku no hi wo yumemiteru aoi furu-tsu  
ato ippo ga fumidasenai sei de  
jirettai no nan notte? baby

Arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai  
sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai  
The Flavor of Life

Her soft voice made everyone in the room quiet, Tohru and the others were surprise by how she could sing. "Wow, I never knew she could sing so beautifully." She said quietly even making Kyo and Uo smile.

Amai dake no sasoi monku ajike no nai doku  
sonna mono ni wa kyoumi wa sosorarenai  
omoitoori ni ikanai toki datte  
jinsei suteta mon janai tte

Doushita no? to kyuu ni kikareru to "uun. nandemo nai"  
sayounara no ato ni kieru egao watashi rashikunai  
sinjitai to negaeba negau hodo nandaka setsunai  
"aishiteru yo" yori mo "daisuki" no hou ga kimi rashii janai?  
The Flavor of Life

Another Student Council Meeting had just finished and Yuki was just about to go back to class when he stopped at the sound of a voice and opened the door slightly to see it was Rainie. He gasped in amazement, Yuki had never heard anyone sing that beautiful before.

Wasurekakete ita hito no omoi wo totsuzen omoidasu koro  
furitsumoru yuki no shirosa wo omou to sunao ni yorokobitai yo

Daiyamondo yorimo yawarakakute atatakana mirai  
teni shitai yo kagiri aru jikan wo kimi to sugoshitai  
"arigatou" to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai  
sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai  
The Flavor of Life

When she had finished, everyone stared at her blankly for a while and then applauded her. Rainie could only smile gratefully at them all while Tohru ran up to her and hugged her tightly. The other students crowded around her, still cheering.

"That was cool, Rainie." One student said.

"Yeah, you can really sing!" Another commented.

"Rainie, I didn't know you could sing like that, that was amazing." A soft voice commented, she turned around to see Yuki smiling at her.

"Thank you, Yuki." She blushed at him when he did this

The bell rang which meant that it was finally lunch. Still, while they were in the hallway, Rainie was still given comments by the other students and smiled through it all. Yuki watched her and was happy to see her smile so much even if everyone was close to them. The crowd began to part revealing a girl with familiar short brown hair and brown eyes, she was equally the same height as Rainie. "I never thought you would sing in public, you used to be so nervous."

Her jade eyes widened at the sight of an old friend. "Azumi-kun!" Rainie said happily but noticing her friend's expression, she stopped smiling. "What's wrong?"

"You…" Azumi whispered quietly.

-Flashback: One Month Ago—

Back at Rainie's school, a month had passed. Rainie was staying in the Main Sohma house and while Rainie was in a new home, one person back at Rainie's old school was missing her.

Azumi hadn't seen Rainie in a month, she was worried and had no idea what had happened to her. No-one had seen her for a month and word got around that her parents had died. Rumors spread that Rainie was so upset, she either ran away or died in grief but Azumi did not believe a word of it.

Then one day, while she was in the nurse's office after getting a headache, she overheard a conversation. "My name is Hatori; I just came to tell you that Azumi is staying with relatives for a while."

Azumi sat up at the sound of Rainie's name and looked around the corner to see a tall dark-haired man, wearing a long, black coat and talked to the receptionist. "Staying with relatives, is she?" The receptionist asked. How is she? I heard the bad news.

"She's fine." Hatori smiled. "Soon Rainie will go back to school. But she will be transferring to Kaibara, I'm afraid."

'She's really leaving me.' Azumi thought, tears were pouring down her eyes. She felt…betrayed. All she could think about was going to find her, to confront Rainie and tell her how she felt. How angry and upset she was that day…

-End of Flashback-

"What?" Rainie asked confused.

"You're my problem!" Azumi replied coldly. "I transferred here after you left me for two months, how could you do that to me, Rainie-chan? I thought we were best friends." Tears prickled out of both their eyes, Rainie moved closer to Azumi but she pushed her away.

Yuki, Kyo and Tohru watched what was going on but more than ever, Yuki wanted to stop her but Kyo put his hand up, blocking his way. "Don't interrupt…" He whispered.

"Never again!" She yelled. "I don't to talk to you or see you ever again!" Sakiyo ran away, leaving Rainie to feel ashamed in front of everyone. Her sleeve covering her tearful eyes as she stood there for a while and then ran off.

Everyone spilt up around the school to find her; Tohru, Uo and Saki around the front half of the school while Yuki and Kyo around the back even though they hated each other more than ever.

And while looking, Yuki and Kyo found her by the pond, crying underneath the cherry blossom tree. Rainie should have told Azumi the truth and she had every right to shout at her. But still, as she sat there underneath cherry blossoms falling around her, she had this feeling like Rainie was saying herself to move on and make new friends. If Sakiyo didn't want to talk to her, then so be it.

They approached her slowly; Yuki being the first to come close to her, he kneeled down next to her and watched her cry for a while. He felt bad for her and wished that she was looked happier.

"Rainie?" He spoke quietly, making her whimper lightly.

And before he knew it, she hugged him. A puff of smoke covered the two for a while and when it descended, Yuki's clothes were on the floor and a rat crawled out. She was too emotionally to be alerted; she merely stared at the rat and sniffed.

"Yuki!" Kyo shouted. "Look what you have done; now she knows…"

"…our secret? I already know." She finished the sentence and then looked at the ground remembering that day with Hatori.

"Is it because I'm not near the whistle?" Rainie whispered in surprise, looking away not realizing that Yuki and Kyo heard her too. "What whistle?"

She looked back at her friends. "Nothing…" They looked at one another and just shrugged.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." She sniffed, smiling at them, despite the fact she was still upset. "I'll get over it." She wiped her tears. "But, you guys didn't have to come here."

"We were just worried about you. But I guess you seeing me like a rat are strange." She slowly picked him up. "I don't care if you're a rat, Yuki. You're still my friend." She smiled happily, putting him down just in time for another puff of smoke to come.

"Turn around, I'm changing back." Yuki ordered before the smoke lifted. Rainie blushed and quickly turned around as he walked behind the tree and got changed.

"Hey Kyo! Yuki! You found her!" A voice called, they turned to see Tohru waving at them smiling happily. Rainie waved back at them even though she was still a little upset. The little boy with blonde hair was just a few steps behind her along with another one with black and white hair.

"How are you feeling?" Tohru asked her. Rainie looked up at her and nodded.

"That's good." She smiled back at her. "I want you to meet some Sohmas, this is Hatsuharu Sohma." The black-and-white nodded his head at her.

"Hello there."

Rainie nodded back. "Hi."

"And this is—"

"Momiji?" Rainie interrupted, recognizing the little boy.

"Rainie!" The little boy called and ran to her but Kyo got hold of him before anything happened.

"Kyo, let go of me, I wanna hug Rainie!"

"How do you two know each other?" Yuki asked coming out from behind the tree and doing his tie.

"What were you doing behind there?" Momiji asked curiously.

"Never mind that, tell us how you knew Rainie before us?"

"It's a long story, but it happened back at the Main Sohma house." Rainie told them

Momiji looked up at her. "On New Year's, remember?" Rainie nodded.

-Flashback: New Year's Day at the Main Sohma House-

Akito had told her to stay in her locked room for the next three days while he entertained the other Sohmas, one of them was including Momiji. Knowing Rainie, she would not argue with his wishes and agreed. Food would be given to her every now and then from Hatori.

When it came to dinner, Hatori didn't notice that he was being followed; it wasn't until he dropped a napkin that he heard footsteps behind him. Hatori put the tray down and before picking up the napkin and putting it on the tray, he looked behind and could see a small blonde boy hiding behind a plant – Momiji.

"Momiji, come out. What is it that you want?" Hatori asked, proceeding around the corner. Momiji ran up to him and followed him.

"I just want to know who you are giving the food too, who is it?" He asked eagerly.

"It is none of your business, Momiji. Go back to the others; I will be there shortly." Hatori gently pushed him away but Momiji wouldn't listen and followed him to Reika's room.

Inside, Rainie was reading a book when she heard the door knock. When the door opened, Hatori and Momiji entered and being Momiji, he bounced into the room and sat on the bed, startling Rainie.

"He's not supposed to be here! Akito will—"

"…know nothing about this." Hatori finished the sentence and closed the door. He put the tray on the small table next to her bed and sat on the side of her bed.

"Momiji, this is Rainie and vice versa. Momiji turns into the rabbit."

"Hatori, you shouldn't have told her." He pouted. "But I can still show you now!" He told her and hugged Rainie without her say, but nothing happened. Momiji sat back in disappointment and stared blankly at her. "What, she didn't transform?!"

"Hatori? Momiji?" A voice called. Outside, Haru was trying to find the two, opening the doors and closing them.

"We'd better go, Momiji. Say your goodbye quietly." Hatori told them getting up to leave. "Goodbye." Momiji said quietly to her and walking to where Hatori was. Rainie smiled and waved at the two as they left.

-End of Flashback-

"Momiji told me shortly after we came to the school." Haru blurted out. "Sorry."

"Awww Haru, you were supposed to keep that a secret, you promised." Momiji pouted.

"You're such a child, Momiji." Kyo muttered making Momiji cry. Haru approached Rainie who was now standing up.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked her while everyone was busy trying to stop Momiji crying and Kyo from shouting at him.

"Sure."

"How long have you been in the Main Sohma house?"

"Two months."

Haru put his hand on his chin. "Such a beautiful girl, how did you survive?" Rainie blushed when he said this to her, Yuki heard it too and suddenly felt a rage of jealousy over him. "Um…I…well…I…"

They both chuckled and then Haru smiled at her. "Hey, did Akito…hurt you in anyway?" This bought a frown to Rainie's face. "I mean…" Rainie shook her head before he could continue.

"No and if he did, I would have left or Hatori would done something about it."

"I see." Haru then looked at Yuki who was glaring back at him and suddenly without anyone realizing, Momiji had managed to stop crying and free himself from Kyo's grip, he ran up to Rainie and hugged her. A poof noise made everyone turn to her; Rainie had fallen onto the tree again with Momiji on her knee, changed to a rabbit.

After the incident, the group waited for Momiji to turn back and put his clothes on before they went to the lunch hall and joined Uo and Saki to eat.

Their last class was science which she had with Yuki and a lot of boys were watching her much to the Prince's disappointment because he did not like them staring at her like that. "I'll go get the equipment!" She told Yuki as he nodded and watched her walk off.

"Hey Yuki!" A boy from behind them whispered. "Who's she? She's pretty kawaii, you know?"

The Zodiac Rat wanted to say something, to tell him to back off and leave her alone, but instead just turned around. Rainie came back immediately with a smile and Yuki forced one back at her. The day went by quickly with the rest of the day, most of Rainie's lessons were either with Tohru and Yuki and she enjoyed it.

The only time she would frown is if Rainie would see Azumi and she would glare at her who would only make her feel worse about herself but if it wasn't Tohru she wouldn't have smiled throughout the day.

Right, it was Tohru who was always smiling and making everyone around her feel happy, maybe that's why Rainie always felt wanted when she was around. Without Tohru, Kyo and Yuki, Rainie would have been quieter than when she met them but now she was talking a bit more to them, feeling more comfortable around them.

Back at Shigure's house, Rainie and Tohru were in their room, pieces of paper on the floor when they heard a faint knock on the door. Yuki smiled and popped his head through the door, "Hey, you two! How are you finding living in the Sohma house?"

She smiled back at him and then turned back to the papers. "Great."

"What are you doing, Ms Honda? Ms Asamiya?" Yuki walked in and looked suspiciously at what they were doing as Tohru held up a paper swan. "Like it? Rainie knows origami."

"Origami, huh? Wow, you can sing and do this, you've got talent indeed."

She grinned at him as he sat down with them. "Need any help?"

Rainie shook her head. "No, but if you like, I can teach you how to make a swan."

Yuki nodded at her and sat down with them. Following Rainie's instructions, he made a paper swan and laughed as Tohru and Rainie recalled their day, thinking back to some of the things they did in lessons. As she was stretching for another paper, she felt another hand on hers. Looking at Yuki, she blushed who was blushing back at her and turned away.

Tohru smiled to herself when she saw this, a thought popped into her mind. Do they like each other? She thought. A light, grumbling noise was heard and both girls turned their heads to Yuki and laughed who did the same.

"I forgot to tell you earlier if you could cook some food for us but my stomach just reminded me."

-A Few Hours Later-

After eating, Rainie sat atop the roof, it was strange but daily thing she would do. Light footsteps made her sit up and she noticed Kyo was there.

"How did you get up here?" He asked suspiciously. She pointed to the ladder. "Oh." He sat down besides her looking at the moon.

"Rainie?"

"Hm?" She turned to look at him.

"I…don't mean to be noisy, but what's all this about a whistle?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She whispered. Staring at the ground, Rainie put her knees up to her chest and her arms held tight around them, not saying another word but feeling Kyo's gaze on her.

"Hatori told Shigure that when he hugged you, you didn't transform. But when Yuki hugged you today, he transformed."

"It's strange I know, but you have nothing to worry about. There is no whistle." There was a moment of silence for a while before Rainie said something. She realized Kyo was not buying it and wanted to know more. She sighing deeply and looked at the stars for a while.

"I've always felt something weird inside me since I was born and I've always felt like an outcast even though I had friends in my old school." She took her hands off of her knees and sighed. "But somehow, being with you all, I don't feel different or an outcast, it's like I really belong here with you all. I can be myself here and do what I like; don't you feel like that sometimes?"

Kyo lowered his head and nodded, it made him remember a time in his life and also how jealous he was of Yuki, a little. He felt ashamed for wanting her to the question. "I'm sorry." He whispered softly.

"Its ok and thank you Kyo, before you came, I was feeling bad but..." She got up to leave. "I hope we can talk more like this…and be good friends."

"We…are friends." He answered.

Rainie smiled and turned to leave, "Good night, Kyo." She called before walking down the ladder and going back inside the house.


	3. Just Tohru and I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I used another song; it is by BoA and is called Every Heart. A lot of songs will be used in this because I am trying to make Reika into a girl who loves to sing whatever her mood.

-Dream-

It was precisely the afternoon when it happened. Akito Sohma stood in front of Rainie, a smug smirk on his face making Rainie feel tense and nervous as she knew he was planning on doing something. They weren't the only ones there, everyone was watching them.

On his side stood Tohru, Shigure, an unnamed man and Yuki. The man was wearing a grey kimono and had long white hair but he wasn't looking in Rainie's direction like everyone else, his focus was on the person next to her who was Kyo and he had taken the beaded bracelet that he always wore.

"Rainie-kun…" She heard Tohru say but didn't gaze at her. She turned to see Kyo scream in pain as if someone had struck with a knife and fell to his knees, hands on his head.

"Kyo, are you ok?" She asked, trying to be helpful.

"Leave, go away!" He yelled and pushed her back harshly, making her fall on the -ground.

"Oh Rainie?" Akito called. The sound of bells made Reika turn immediately at him and gasp in shock. There, held in between his index fingers, was her cursed whistle with two bells tied on it in string. She took a step back and shook her head furiously. "N…no, please A…Akito, wait." Rainie stuttered looking back at the others; Shigure looked serious, Tohru was scared, Rainie could tell and Yuki…he also looked scared and shocked, his purple eyes showed fear and it made Rainie even more afraid.

"Let's show everyone who you really are, Rainie Asami. Shall we?"

"No, please…" She pleaded, tears pouring out of her eyes. But it was too late; Akito had already blown the whistle, causing Rainie to scream and fall to her knees just like Kyo but only she didn't move and began to change…

-End of Dream-

Rainie woke up immediately in a cold sweat; she turned to her side and looked at the clock, 7:09am. She turned back to her side and saw a sleeping Tohru, Rainie was still getting used to sharing a bed with Tohru and decided to get up. Luckily, it was a Saturday so there was nothing to do really. She got washed and then started to get dressed putting on a blue jumper and black jeans, she needed to take a walk and clear her mind.

The dream, it felt so real and strangely enough, most of Rainie's dreams were like visions for her and would come true in a matter of time. Something she had since Rainie could remember. And if it did, what then? She clearly saw Akito come here to Shigure's house and he bought the whistle which means he was planning something to expose her secret.

As soon as she finished getting dressed, Rainie quietly made her way downstairs while tying her hair into a ponytail and made her way to the door. Once she was outside, she breathed a sigh of relief but when she turned around, she jumped to see Shigure in front of her. He had a serious look on his face but this changed when he folded his arms and raised his eyebrow at her.

"G…Good morning." She stammered, still a little surprised.

"Morning." Shigure said, tilting his head to the side for a while. "Where are you off too this early?"

"I…hope it's alright. I'm just going to go for a walk and clear my head. Don't worry, I'll be back." She told him and turned to leave but felt a hand on her shoulder. Rainie was expecting him to stop her but when she turned around; he was just smiling at her as if everything was ok.

"Be careful then." He said cheerfully waving as she left before letting go and watching her walk away.

She let out another sigh as she begun walking away. How Shigure was behind before she even knew, was a surprise to her. Then she remembered, he was the dog of the zodiac and of course, dogs could hear more than humans could. Ok, let's see, the whistle is with Akito at the moment but maybe I could get into the Sohma house again. But how? She thought to herself. Maybe the only way is to steal the whistle and hide it somewhere that we would both forget it. However… She lifted her head up and found a spot on the grass to sit on. She watched the sun for a while before returning to her thoughts. It's the only way.

"It's the only way." She whispered to herself, she put her knees up to her chest and her arms held tight around them.

"What's the only way?" A voice asked, Rainie looked up to see a boy with black and white hair standing next to her; Hatsuharu. She didn't make a sudden movement to him; she just looked back at the sun.

"Hi Haru-san." Rainie said quietly. He was trying to ignore her calling him 'Haru-san'; it didn't feel right to him. They sat there for a while with Hatsuharu sitting next to her and Rainie still in the same position she was.

"What's troubling you?" He asked, looking at her. "You want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "Not really. I…" Rainie stopped biting his lip.

"Yeah?"

"…it's nothing."

"Well…" He began saying and decided to lie down on the grass. "Whatever it is, you wouldn't be here right now and this time of the morning, would you?"

Rainie shut her eyes and sighed. "Your right." She opened her eyes quickly when she smelled like something was burning, she looked at Haru and was surprised to see him lighting a cigarette. "You smoke?" She watched as he took the cigarette from his mouth, smoke clouded the air around him and nod at her. "How long has it been?"

"Two months." He replied. "And don't tell me to stop because when I'm ready I will."

"I won't, it's your decision. I can't stop you from doing it." Haru smiled at her.

"Good. You know Kyo?" She nodded. "He does it too."

"Is that why you smoke too?"

Haru shook his head. "No, I chose too for my own reason. So…" He looked back at the sun. "…since I told you something, it's only fair you tell me."

Rainie thought fast. She couldn't tell him what she was planning to do; maybe she could twist it somehow…"Akito sent me a letter saying he wants me and Tohru to visit the Main Sohma house and meet Tohru in person."

Haru's eyes widened. "Really? I wonder what Kyo, Shigure and Yuki reactions were like."

"We haven't told them. Akito doesn't want us to tell them." She lied quickly.

"I see." Haru nodded at her and stood up. "Well, I'd better go. It's still early so be careful, ok?" He warned her before leaving.

"Ok." She whispered and turned back to look at the sun. The rays shined on her jet-black hair as she continued to stare into one spot. I should think about what to do to get the whistle before leaving.

-Shigure's House: 3 hours later-

"And you just let her walk out like that?! She may get lost or worse!" Kyo shouted banging his fist on the table when Shigure told them what happened. All three teenagers woke up late because it was Saturday.

"How can you be so stupid?" Yuki said angrily, he glared at Shigure which made him laugh sheepishly.

"Don't worry; I'm sure she's just fine! I didn't know you boys cared so much for her like that. Let's just hope she hasn't done a runner and left you two crying!" He mumbled as he took another sip; Shigure looked up and grinned sheepishly as he made Yuki and Kyo give him death glares. They were ready to hit him when Tohru stood up and hoped they would stop.

"Maybe she just needs some time alone." Tohru assured, making the two boys become quiet and listen to her. "You know, she recently lost her parents, lost her best friend and now she's moved to the second Sohma house and a new school, it may be a lot of pressure on her and she just might need to clear her head."

That calmed both Kyo and Yuki down. "Maybe your right." Yuki replied, a smile slowly forming on his lips.

"But I am worried too. In the night, I heard her say some strange things about a whistle, Akito and a secret. I hope nothing's happened." Everyone was silent, lost in their own thoughts for a while. A whistle, Akito, a secret… Yuki looked at Tohru. Tohru looked at Shigure. Shigure looked at Kyo and he looked back at Yuki. …What could she be hiding?

The silence broke when they heard the front door close and singing was heard. Rainie, Yuki thought.

Ikutsu namida o nagashitara

Every Heart sunao ni nareru darou

Dare ni omoi wo tsutaetara

Every Heart kokoro mitasareru no darou

That singing – it was definitely Rainie's, the softness in her singing voice. Once he saw her come into the room, Yuki calmed down and smiled at her when she walked in.

-Rainie-

"Rainie-kun, your back!" Tohru exclaimed happily giving her a hug.

"See," Shigure said, smirking and drinking his tea. "I told you she was fine."

"Just be quiet ok?" Kyo said angrily as Rainie looked around at everyone. "What's going on?"

Yuki shook his head. "Nothing Ms Asami, we were just worried about you; you were gone for three hours."

"Three hours?" She looked at the clock and it read, 10:45am. Reika bowed in apology. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's ok and don't worry. At least, we know your near now." Shigure interrupted and passed a letter to her. "By the way, this letter came to you; it's from the Main Sohma house."

Rainie held the letter in her hands for a while before starting to tear the side of it. That lie she told to Hatsuharu…it wasn't real was it? She slowly began open the letter and her eyes widened when she saw who it was from.

Rainie,

It's only been a few days since you left but I hope you are enjoying your stay there. I would like to extend an invitation to you and Ms. Tohru Honda to come to the Main Sohma house tomorrow if you are too busy; it would be nice to talk to you both. Please take your time deciding because it is your decision.

\- Akito

She handed the letter to Tohru and smiled weakly at her. "Here." She handed the letter and walked out of the room, to the back of the house without anyone seeing her. She leaned against the door and stared for a while.

He had planned this well. Each word seemed like he was being friendly to her but behind them, he was secretly making her to do something, Akito was asking her to come down to the Sohma so he could talk with her about something and that she should bring Tohru. He wanted to meet Tohru, and what would happen then? Reika had to agree with his wishes just like everyone else in the Sohma family. What if I never met Akito? Would I have still met Kyo, Yuki and Tohru?

She felt a light pat on her shoulder and turned slightly to see who it was. "Ms Asami, are you ok?" Yuki was standing right beside her, and his face was only inches away from hers. She nodded slowly; her heart was beating fast because if Yuki wanted too, he was close that he could kiss her. But instead, he backed away a few steps. "I'm fine, and you should just call me Rainie like everyone else does."

"The letter, are you scared to go the Main Sohma House? To see Akito?" He asked, making Rainie look away from him.

"No." Yuki could tell she was lying because she looked away as she answered.

"It's ok to be, you know. Everyone is at a time in their life and if you are, you're not the only one. Tohru is pretty nervous herself right now."

Rainie sighed deeply. "I don't have a choice; I have too, don't I?" She looked at him waiting for an answer; Yuki opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again, he lowered his head as if he was ashamed of something.

"Well…" Yuki's voice trailed off. She was right; whatever Akito wished, had to be done and no-one bothered to refuse since he was the head of the family. "Yeah," He whispered, they waited a few moments before leaving.

"Yuki-kun, thank you." She told him and slowly looked at him and smiled. "Thanks for at least trying to make me feel less at ease which you did."

He returned the smile. "No problem…Rainie-kun!" He then continued to walk upstairs. Yuki smiled; Rainie was somehow always doing this to him, Yuki couldn't help it. Normally, he wouldn't have admitted this but he had a crush on her from the moment she walked through the door. It wasn't because of the way she dressed, her looks or even her singing voice, it was because Rainie seemed just like him.

Walking into his room, he could hear a soft voice singing from downstairs when he heard it.

Nagai nagai yoru ni obieteita

Tooi hoshi ni inotteta

Meguru meguru toki no naka de

Bokutachi wa ai o sagashiteiru

Tsuyoku tsuyoku naritai kara

Kyou mo takai sora miageteiru

Donna egao ni deaetara

Every Heart yume ni fumidaseru no

Hito wa kanashimi no mukou ni

Every Heart shiawase ukabete nemuru

Itsuka itsuka subete no tamashii ga

Yasuraka ni nareru you ni

Rainie was singing again and it was making Yuki calmer already, he laid down on his bed and closed his eyes until he fell asleep.

Meguru meguru toki no naka de

Bokutachi wa ikite nanika wo shiru

Toki ni warai sukoshi naite

Kyou mo mata arukitsuzukete yuku

Osanai kioku no katasumi ni

Atataka na basho ga aru so sweeet

Hoshi tachi ga hanasu mirai wa

Itsumo kagayaite ita so shine

Meguru meguru toki no naka de

Bokutachi wa ai wo sagashite iru

Tsuyoku tsuyoku naritai kara

Kyou mo takai sora miagete iru

Meguru meguru toki no naka de

Bokutachi wa ikite nanika wo shiru

Toki ni warai sukoshi naite

Kyou mo mata arukitsuzukete yuku

-The Next Day-

"You call us when you're ready to go." Yuki told them. Together, Tohru and Rainie made their decision to go, Yuki and Kyo offered to walk them there to make sure they got their safe. They both nodded at him. "Rainie," He called getting her attention. "You sure you're—"

She nodded quickly before he finished. "I'm sure and thanks again for the talk yesterday, it did help a lot."

Yuki smiled, seeming happy with himself, he didn't realise that Kyo was listening and noticed something, Does he like her? He turned his attention to Tohru, seeming a little irritated by her actions.

"Don't be so scared, Tohru and biting your nails. It's not like your going somewhere bad." Kyo said at Tohru's nervous expression, he turned his face to Yuki who glared at Kyo; he sighed deeply and put his hand on Tohru's shoulder. "You'll be okay, Reika's with you remember?"

Tohru looked at Rainie and smiled back at Kyo. "Your right thanks Kyo." He nodded, quickly turned around walking away so they wouldn't see.

Rainie and Tohru walked away from Kyo and Yuki. "I know something you don't know!"

Yuki looked at the corner of his eye to see Kyo smirking at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't hide it, you like Rainie." Kyo mocked, Yuki gave him an evil look. "So, you like Tohru, don't you?"

That shut Kyo up as he said nothing else but muttered something else under his breath. How did he know? Yuki thought.

"How about this?" He heard Kyo say. "We both won't tell them until we're ready. That means you don't tell Tohru I like her and I won't Rainie or I'll make sure you feel my pain."

Yuki smirked. "Agreed. But you know as well as I do, that I kick your ass every day."

Kyo felt his anger levels rising. "Oh yeah!" He said angrily, rolling up his sleeves. "Let's see who kicks whose ass right now, girly boy!"

-Main Sohma House-

"Wow!" Tohru exclaimed, she gasped looking around like a little kid, Tohru reminded Rainie of Momiji. "The Sohma property is so big." The Main Sohma was indeed incredible and big; it was a traditional Japanese-style separated into an inner and outer section.

Rainie smiled at her friend's amazement. "Yeah, it sure is Tohru-kun. Let me take you to where Hatori is." Rainie and Tohru entered the Sohma house; it was the same as always when Rainie had left even though it had been a few days. But memories began to flood through Rainie's mind. She could remember some times when she and Hatori would go for short walks, grocery shopping or even for some ice-cream.

-Flashback: Three Weeks Ago-

But there was a time Rainie remembered when Akito had walked together, once when he revealed Akito had walked together, once when he revealed Akito was moving for her to speak to Shigure.

"Really?" She said; her voice sounding softer as she would with Akito. He nodded. "You will leave in three weeks and will stay there until further notice. No excuses, ok?"

This time, Rainie nodded. "Yes." She whispered, though she would never argue with him. She didn't want to leave, mainly because she would miss talking to Hatori. He was the only there to talk too and she would miss him deeply.

-End of Flashback-

A tall figure was standing at the door of one of the Sohma rooms. Rainie immediately recognized who it was and her face turned to a big smile. "Hatori-san!" Rainie called happily, she ran up to him and hugged him. "I haven't seen you for so long."

He patted her softly on the head smiling to himself. "Yes it has, how are Shigure and the others treating you?"

She broke away and smiled. "Good…um…" She turned her head half-way to Tohru and then back to Hatori. "Have you met Tohru yet?"

Hatori nodded and walked over to Tohru with Rainie next to herself. "Once, I invited Tohru here to meet Akito but unfortunately, like today and before, he is not well. I can't seem to get him to go to his room so he is sleeping in one of the guest rooms nearest to the mediation room."

He turned his attention to Tohru. "I would like to have a private talk with you, if that's ok." Tohru nodded and looked at Rainie. "What about Rainie?"

"I'll be fine." She told them, smiling. "I think I'll just go walk around and maybe to see my old room again."

She's up to something. Hatori thought but merely nodded at her and watched as Rainie walked away with Tohru to his office. I'll find out as soon as I finish talking to Tohru.

Rainie walked away as quick as possible, she knew what she was looking for – the whistle. She didn't even have to guess that it would be in Akito's room…

-Hatori's Office-

Hatori's was quite messy; he rarely made time to tidy it up. His books were faced down on the shelves, floor and office desk; Pieces of crumpled paper were on the floor or by the bin. It seemed like his job as the family doctor was hard. He beckoned Tohru to sit down; she smiled and walked over to sit down.

"So," He started, sitting comfortably on his chair, clasping his hands. "How is Rainie really doing?"

"She's doing just fine. Nothing big to worry about." She told him. "Didn't Rainie-kun just tell you how she was?"

"Something big is always something to worry about with Rainie." Hatori got up from his chair and started to arrange books at the shelves and then continuing talking to Tohru.

"Tohru, how much do you know about Rainie's past?" He asked, turning sharply at her. "Tell me everything you know and everything she has told you."

"Ok, but…why?"

"Rainie is different from everybody. But not like Yuki and Kyo, she's like a little sister to me and I need to know what she has told you, there are some things I could tell you but it depends." He turned around to her. "Go ahead."

-Rainie-

Finally, She thought as she walked slowly into Akito's room, she had been in there several times already. Noticing the whistle straight away on the table, Rainie picked it up and carefully dropping it into her bag; she sighed in relief and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. I think I'd better go and wait for Tohru now. She told herself. A sharp voice from behind her made Rainie froze.

"What are you doing?" Hatori asked, hands folded as he wondered why and how Rainie was in Akito's room.

"Nothing." She said quickly before walking hastily to the door but Hatori put his arm up.

"You know as well I do not to come in here and you know of the consequences too. So whatever you are planning to do, it won't work. Akito will find a way to make your life miserable or worse."

"I know but…" Rainie looked up at Hatori. "I had another vision; this one was strange and felt like it was going to happen very soon. Akito was going to blow on the whistle in front of everyone and I was going to—" She stopped not wanting to finish the sentence. "I don't want my secret to be found out. I don't want Shigure and the others to hate me…"

"They won't, I promise." Hatori assured her. "And if it does you've got to face your fears, Rainie. Do you want Akito to keep you in that room again?"

Rainie's eyes widened when she remembered and swallowed. That room haunted her forever; she stayed there for two weeks when she disobeyed Akito's orders. With only one meal for one week, Reika started to go mad; chanting and whispering to herself. Her eyes weary from the lack of sleep and she got bored of sitting in a room. The worst part was when Akito was angry, he would grab a whip and slashed Reika's arm – that's why she covered her arms with jumpers or long t-shirts but that was only for five days then again…

Rainie wondered why she even trusted or agreed with Akito to let her live in the Sohma house in the first place. If she knew this was going to happen, she shouldn't have left. But back then, she didn't know what to say; Rainie didn't bother to stay at Sakiyo's house or even contact her and she couldn't bear to go back to her old house and there was no point in going back there.

"No." She whispered, still in shock. Hatori held out his hand and received the whistle from Rainie's own. She started to walk away; her own hand was shaking still.

"Hatori, please promise me, that Akito won't find it. Put it somewhere where we both won't find it and that my friends won't see what was happens when the whistle is blown."

Friends? Does she mean Tohru, Shigure, Yuki and Kyo? He thought. "I promise." Hatori told her. She nodded and then left walking in the direction of the gate to the spot Rainie and Tohru promised to meet. Rainie knew she could trust Hatori; she was like family to her – an older brother who always looked out for her.

"Rainie-kun!" Tohru called, surprising Rainie and making her a little tense. "What's wrong, Rainie?" Tohru asked when she saw her expression. Rainie covered her sadness with a smile and shook his head. "Nothing, are you ok?"

Tohru smiled at her. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you ready to go?" She asked. "Sure." The girls walked to the gate, arms around the other, smiling as if everything was ok when they both knew there was something to worry about for both of them. But deep down, they both hid something.

Rainie had to put her trust into Hatori keeping the whistle away from Akito and Tohru, she had learned about the whistle's existence…


	4. The Kiss

"You called for me?" Hatori asked as he walked into Akito's room and sat down on the chair in his room opposite Akito.

"Yes, I did." Akito replied. "I wanted you to tell me what happened a week before? I really wish I was there to know how Rainie was." This was just a lie; he didn't really care or seem too. The letter was however written by Hatori, not Akito. Still, the Zodiac Dragon explained and when he finished, Akito smirked to himself. "She tried to take the whistle, huh?"

Hatori nodded once again and placed the whistle on the table in between them. "I think I she had a dream about what is to for see."

"Let her." The Head Sohma told him, his fingers gripping the arm of the chair. "In the meantime, get on the phone and get someone to watch over her."

"Yes, Akito." He replied and then walked out of the room.

-Kaibara High School-

A week had passed since Rainie and Tohru's visit to the Main Sohma house. There was a big difference in that time that affected the two girls. Rainie had grown closer to each of the Sohmas; She had starting talking more to Shigure, telling him she wanted to be a novelist and he insisted on giving her some writing tips. Rainie also had a close bond with Kyo too. At night when they couldn't sleep at night, Rainie and Kyo would go up to the roof and speak about certain things in their life, Rainie was careful not to mention her secret. But, Yuki was the person she had grown most close too; they had a lot of classes together and would talk every now and then.

It seemed everyone was spending a lot of time with Rainie except Tohru. Both girls hadn't spoken like they used to since their visit, they only said 'hello' or 'how are you?' but that was it. When they were alone or in class daydreaming, the two girls thought a lot about their worries. Rainie was starting to doubt the fact if she could trust Hatori and although he treated her like family, there were still many things she did not know about him.

While Tohru was still in deep thought on what Hatori had told her about Rainie. Could it be true? Or could Hatori have just told her because they were orders from the head of the family, Akito to make her scared? But there were times when Tohru thought she was feeling left out because Rainie seemed to be getting on well with the others.

But in that past week, Yuki had grown feelings for Rainie and Kyo for Tohru. But still, not one of the two admitted to the girls until now.

"Hey Rainie, will you go out with me?" A boy asked her in the hallway. She shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to date right now, Mika! I hope you can understand."

The boy lowered his head and then put it up again. "Please, I'm not a bad guy, you know?"

Rainie smiled and shook her head. "I know you're not, Mika but still, I'm sorry."

"Please…" He pleaded. Kyo placed his hand on the brunette's shoulder and scared Mika; he seemed to have lost his confidence at the arrival of the Zodiac Cat.

"I thought she said 'no' already. Why don't you stop trying and go, okay?" He accepted defeat, nodded and then quickly ran off. She watched as he did this and breathed a sigh of relief. That was the sixth boy she turned down in the past week and no matter how many times Rainie rejected them, the boys of Kaibara High would find another way to try and ask her out again. It wasn't that she said no for a reason, Rainie was just into this…other guy, someone close by.

She turned to Kyo and smiled at him. "Thank you Kyo."

"Finally!" They heard Uo say walking towards them, arriving with Arisa, Yuki and Tohru. "You're doing something nice, orange top!"

Kyo muttered something under his breath and looked away. "Wow, looks like you're becoming equally more popular than me!" Yuki said from behind them.

"Oh no, I don't know about that, Yuki-kun!" She said, blushing. Rainie was also adjusting well to Kaibara High too. Her school grades were high and she would do singing lessons after school. But at times, Rainie would find herself staring at Yuki while he did his duties or approached by other girls. He would look over and smile at her but she would shyly turn away. Sometimes, when Rainie was in the music room singing with the music teacher, Yuki would listen and smile. A week could change Rainie's life forever…

"Tohru! Rainie!" Momiji called happily, running up to the two girls in the hallway, Yuki and Kyo were right beside them. But before he could hug them, Kyo hit Momiji's head, making him fall hard on the floor and causing some people to look.

"Someone help! Kyo's hitting me!" Momiji wailed.

"You idiot, you forgot we can't hug them!" He shouted at him and in return got a punch from Yuki.

"Stop making a scene, you stupid cat!"

"I think I'll start getting to class now." Tohru suddenly announced. "I'll see you at break." She waved at them and walked down the hall.

"What's up with Tohru?" Momiji asked sadly watching her turn the corner. "Maybe I should go talk to her." He suggested but Rainie stopped him.

"Why don't you leave that to me, Momiji?"

Kyo had noticed this but didn't know what to say watching Rainie run after her friend. Tohru would just smile and then say nothing; he wondered why but never decided to talk to her. It was as if Tohru and Rainie had switched roles because he was asking for advice from Rainie now. Something had happened last week ago that made them this way, He thought.

Rainie didn't have to look far for Tohru because when turned the corner, she saw her sitting down on a bench outside, looking at the clouds. She approached her slowly and then tapped her shoulder so Tohru would look up at her.

"What are you out here by yourself, Tohru?" She asked sitting next to her.

She put on a brave smile. "I'm fine. Did you want to talk me about something?"

"I came to check up on you. Everyone is worried about you especially Momiji." She let out a tiny laugh but when she saw Tohru wasn't smiling with her, she stopped.

"Did something happen at the Sohma house? We can always talk about it…" Rainie's voice trailed off. No, then she'll want to know what happened to me, She thought.

Tohru looked at her. "What is it?"

Rainie turned back to her and smiled at her. "Nothing, you know what? If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."

The bell rang suddenly surprising the two. "Looks like we better get going to class now!" Rainie stood up and smiled at her. "Oh and Tohru, I just wanted to say thank you for being a good friend to me." Rainie said happily. "You've helped me come out of my shell and made me feel like a better person."

Tohru blinked. "Really?" She nodded before walking away, waving goodbye to her.

Tohru watched Rainie leave; she had forgotten not to let anything keep her down even if it was a secret, that's what her mum would have said. The secret felt like a burden on her shoulders and she wondered if that was why Rainie was so quiet when she first came to live with them, Tohru knew exactly how Rainie felt now. At the moment, Rainie had made Tohru feel like she had been before.

"Thank you, Rainie." She whispered, Tohru got up and begun to walk to her next class in the opposite way. Without noticing, she bumped into Kyo.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." Tohru said smiling at him. "Hey, why aren't you in class right now?"

"Because…" He started walking away, pulling Tohru's arm gently so she would follow him. "…you're in my class and we need to go before we're late." Tohru smiled; she knew he cared and was waiting for her all along.

Rainie peeked from around the corner and smiled to herself. She had been watching the whole thing.

-Later that Night-

"I can't believe that happened, I wish I was in your class Tohru!" Rainie said in between breaths. It seemed everything was getting back to normal because laughter was coming from Tohru and Rainie's room that night once again.

"Hey, can I ask you something Rainie?"

She nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

"Do you…like Yuki?" Rainie blushed, making Tohru laugh. "Don't worry Rainie, you never know, he might like you too."

She put her hand on her head and titled it slightly. "I don't know, he has all those fan girls around him. Yuki could pick any girl in school if he really wanted to know. I don't think he could choose me for a second."

"No," Tohru said, "I have a feeling he does."

Rainie looked up at her. "Well, if I like Yuki, do you like…Kyo?"

"Yeah." Tohru whispered quietly. "For a while." This time, it was Rainie to laugh, comfort and offer advice to Tohru.

"I think I have an idea." She yawned. "But I'll tell you in the morning ok?"

Tohru nodded and closed her eyes. She was glad to be friends with Rainie again and it was good to have another girl in the house to talk too especially now that she had opened herself up more.

The next morning, Yuki walked into the hallway and seeing Kyo, he stopped. Yuki was hoping to ask Tohru if she could help him with his secret base but when he saw him, the thought left Yuki. A smirk formed onto his lips as he sighed. He tried to walk past him but Kyo prevented it.

"Move!" He ordered; Yuki was starting to get annoyed with his childish behaviour.

"You still owe me a fight from last week, remember?"

Yuki sighed. "I only said that because your too scared to tell Tohru how you feel and plus, you're an idiot."

Anger raged in Kyo as he gritted his teeth. "What?! I'm not an idiot and I'm not scared!" He pointed at Yuki. "You're the only one who's scared, rat boy! Why don't you mind your business and tell Rainie how you feel instead?"

"Thanks Shigure." She called from the door and closed it. Kyo and Yuki stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Rainie was holding a book that read 'Writing Tips'. She jumped at the sight of the two boys. "You guys scared me! What are you doing out here?"

Yuki and Kyo blinked back to reality. "Nothing." They said in unison. Rainie nodded and walked past them. She was both confused and disappointed; Rainie was hoping they were going to ask her something but at the same time, wondered why they were standing there and staring forward in the first place.

"Well then," Kyo said. "What are you waiting for? Ask her."

The two looked at Rainie who sat underneath a tree and read; he had never asked a girl out before or even been on a date. The thought of his date touching him and turning into a rat would definitely scare them. Even though he was the 'Prince of Kaibara', he didn't like any of the girls there except Tohru who was now his good friend. But Rainie was different; her features stood out from every girl and even her personality was unique.

Taking a deep breath, Yuki calmly walked over to Rainie and Tohru. "Hey Tohru," He called getting her attention.

"Hi Yuki. What is it?" She asked cheerfully.

"Could I talk with Rainie for a moment?" Both girls exchanged looks and then Tohru walked away, she watched her friend leave and bit her lip. Yuki noticed Rainie was nervous; he sat down next to her.

She smiled at him, pretending everything was fine. "So, what do you want to talk about Yuki?"

"Well, I…um…" Come on Yuki, say it already. If she says yes, great. If she says no, then at least you tried. "I wanted to ask, do you want to go out?"

Rainie paused; didn't Akito warn her about these things happening? I can't say no now plus, I really like him, she thought smiling at him. "I'd love too, Yuki." She replied.

Yuki smiled back, he was surprised by her answer. "Why don't we go after school tomorrow, is that ok?"

Rainie nodded. "Ok." He then turned and left with a smirk on his face directed at Kyo whose mouth was wide open.

He muttered underneath his breath. "I can't believe she said 'yes' to that damn rat."

"Did you say something?" Yuki asked passing him. "Or are you jealous that I could do it?"He growled and stomped out to the garden like an angry child, Yuki was beating him at everything.

A soft laugh made him come to a halt. He spun around and saw it was Tohru; she had changed from her school uniform to a summer dress, Kyo wondered why. Her hand was over to her mouth when she saw Kyo stare at her. "Sorry, you just looked so silly, Kyo-kun!" She said, still giggling before skipping in Rainie's direction.

"Um, Tohru…" He said.

"Yeah?"

"You…look cute." She blushed and smiled. "Thanks."

School went quick the next day and Rainie found herself waiting for Yuki who was being swarmed by girls who were saying goodbye to him. "It's always like this." Kyo said, walking next to her. "We'll see you two later, ok?"

Rainie waved goodbye to them and began to walk in the other direction with Yuki. It was such a nice day for the two that they decided to head in the direction of the beach and bought some meat dim sums on the way.

"I know this is not the sort of date you expected." Yuki said, eating one. "But…"

"It's ok, Yuki." She replied quickly, smiling at him. "I'm having a great time with you anyways." He blinked and could only smile back at Rainie; was she really having a great time with him or was she just pretending to be nice?

They stood there for a while, eating and watching the sunset. He had an idea.

"Can you sing that song you sang when we thought you had run away?"

Rainie blushed. "Really, thanks. Ok then" She took a deep breath and began to sing.

Ikutsu namida o nagashitara

Every Heart sunao ni nareru darou

Dare ni omoi wo tsutaetara

Every Heart kokoro mitasareru no darou

Nagai nagai yoru ni obieteita

Tooi hoshi ni inotteta

Meguru meguru toki no naka de

Bokutachi wa ai o sagashiteiru

Tsuyoku tsuyoku naritai kara

Kyou mo takai sora miageteiru

Donna egao ni deaetara

Every Heart yume ni fumidaseru no

Hito wa kanashimi no mukou ni

Every Heart shiawase ukabete nemuru

Itsuka itsuka subete no tamashii ga

Yasuraka ni nareru you ni

Meguru meguru toki no naka de

Bokutachi wa ikite nanika wo shiru

Toki ni warai sukoshi naite

Kyou mo mata arukitsuzukete yuku

Osanai kioku no katasumi ni

Atataka na basho ga aru so sweeet

Hoshi tachi ga hanasu mirai wa

Itsumo kagayaite ita so shine

Meguru meguru toki no naka de

Bokutachi wa ai wo sagashite iru

Tsuyoku tsuyoku naritai kara

Kyou mo takai sora miagete iru

Meguru meguru toki no naka de

Bokutachi wa ikite nanika wo shiru

Toki ni warai sukoshi naite

Kyou mo mata arukitsuzukete yuku

As she began to finish the last verse, Rainie eyes were closed; it was his chance now. He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers gently. She opened her eyes in a flash and was surprised but she slowly kissed him back.

They both stood back for a while and didn't say anything. Akito had warned her about this, Rainie remembered now.

-Flashback: A Week Ago-

"Wait. Whatever you do, do not fall in love with either Yuki or Kyo. And don't tell them you're secret. Otherwise, you know what will happen."

-End of Flashback-

She quickly observed the area and wondered if someone was watching them. "What's wrong Rainie?" Yuki asked.

"Nothing." She replied, still turning her head back and forth. Yuki pulled her arm gently to get her attention, her eyes now focused on him.

"Are you sure? I hope I didn't scare you." She sighed. "No, I just didn't know you would do that."

"Well, there's something I have to tell you," He took a deep breath and then exhaled. "I…like you."

Rainie smiled. "I like you too, Yuki." He stroked her cheek and smiled, they got up to leave.

"Yuki," She said softly. "I have something to tell you but…" She looked away from his eyes. "…I can't tell you now, it may be tomorrow or in a couple of weeks ok?" Yuki nodded as they walked down the street, hand-in-hand.

A sinister black figure hid behind a few trees and shook his head. "He warned you, and now your life is going to be ruined." The man turned on his heels and quietly and walked away.


	5. Threatening Messages

"Hey you guys, check it out!" A boy said to his group of friends, he pointed to the class board in the hallway which had several rather interesting pictures hung onto it. It captured two people kissing and they were very familiar as they looked harder, it looked like…

"Oh my gosh, isn't that…the Prince?" One girl questioned, gasping when she recognized the boy was Yuki.

"Who is he with?"

"It's that girl, Rainie!" One of the boys said, suddenly remembering. "Hm…no wonder she's so close to Yuki."

"No way! Are they going out?" The second girl asked.

"I hope not!" The second boy replied. "I wanted to ask Rainie."

"Well, they both are called 'The Prince and Princess of Kaibara.' It's going to come as a surprise to some of their fans."The first girl told them.

"I can imagine."

"Imagine what?"What's everyone looking at?" Kyo asked. They all stopped talking and quickly turned around to the orange-haired boy, right next to him stood Tohru. One of the boys walked up to Kyo and pointed at the picture.

"Is it true the prince is going out with Rainie?" He asked curiously. Kyo stared hard at the picture for a moment and his eye widened a little; he had to ask himself that same question. Tohru also gasped and covered her mouth; she was as surprised as anybody else.

The group of people were still waiting for his answer but he just asked merely shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." Then Kyo walked away, tugging on Tohru's arm so they could leave.

"What about Yuki and Rainie, Kyo? I don't think it's a good idea to just leave them. Don't you think we should ask them what's going on?" She was right.

It looked so real but the only way Kyo was going to find out was from that rat's mouth. For a second, Kyo stopped and looked around; it wasn't just that board that had their picture on it but it was pinned up mostly everywhere in the school. Even the lockers and walls were covered with them. Is someone trying to get revenge? Or is this just some sick joke? "Ok." He said and they turned back the other way.

"So?"

"So what?" Yuki said confused.

"Are you two going or what?"

"A lot of girl's hearts are going to be crushed!" Another boy said from behind Yuki.

"And guys! Some boys are on Rainie, you know?" But before Yuki could reply, Rainie stepped in. "It is true. We are dating." She held his hand and smiled at them.

Yuki looked down at his hand and blushed slightly. "Yeah." Luckily, the bell rang and Rainie and Yuki managed to escape from anymore people asking them if it was true or not.

-Lunchtime-

"Hey you!" Rainie turned her head around to a girl facing her.

"Yes?"

"You're Rainie, aren't you?" Rainie nodded.

"Yes, who are you?"

"You're talking to The Prince Yuki Fanclub president, Motoko Minagawa" Three other girls stood behind, hands on their hips as if they were mimicking and their heads held high. Then gave Rainie an evil glare and resumed talking. "Listen, do me a favour and stay away from Yuki!"

"And why should I?"

Because you have no right to touch the Prince of Kaibara!"

"That's not fair the way I see it! You're asking me to stay away from my boyfriend!" Rainie gulped at the words; Tohru couldn't believe she just called Yuki that too!

"You will do as I say." She demanded, her voice rising a little.

"No! You can't make me."

"Very well. Then I will just have to make you suffer!" Motoko put one of her hands tightly on Rainie's neck and began to squeeze her arm with the other making her start bleed. "Do you hear me now?" She yelled then using her hand again to squeeze her arm tightly. Tohru watched as Rainie yelled in pain, what could she do? Everyone was crowding around expecting them to fight.

"Hey! Leave her alone," A familiar voice said. Motoko turned to see Yuki and dropped Rainie making her fall on the floor.

"Yuki! Rainie is—Rainie, don't go!" But she had already run away from the crowd. Tohru and Yuki watched as she ran away in shame. This time, Yuki glared at Motoko who lowered her head.

-Back at Shigure's House-

"Shigure, we're home!" Yuki called and he put his bag down.

"Hey Rainie! How was—" His voice trailed off as she walked past him slowly. "—your day…"

"Fine…" She replied quietly making her way to the next room.

"You've got a letter, it's in the kitchen!" He shouted as she closed the door. Shigure turned to look at the others. "What's wrong with her?"

"A lot. Leave her for a while, ok?" Kyo replied and walked upstairs with Yuki and Tohru behind them leaving Shigure to frown like a child and go back to his office.

Rainie followed his instructions and when she opened the door, she found it lying on the counter. The letter had only her name on it and the handwriting was so familiar. Like it was…Akito. Slowly, Rainie began to rip it open and read;

Do you remember when I told you do not get too close with Yuki or Kyo? Do you even remember me saying that if you did, your life would be ruined? Well then, how was your day at school? I bet it was pretty humiliating right? Yes, I caught you and Yuki kissing and it was a sickening sight.

I warned you to not fall in love with either boys and soon, your fate will be decided.

\- Akito

Rainie continued to stare hard at the letter in disbelief. No, everything was fine and now I have to give it all up. She sniffed, scrunching the letter and throwing it into the bin only for it to miss. She put her hands around her legs and curled up into a tight ball. How did things get this bad? Blackmail was the worst possible thing to happen to her and she hated it; giving two choices that no matter what would make her feel worse about doing either one.

There was a small knock on the door before she saw Tohru come in. "Rainie," She sat next to her friend and smiled at the jet-haired girl whose own eyes were only saddened by today's actions. "I'm sorry that I didn't do nothing to help you when that fanclub girl—" Rainie shook her head.

"It's alright, Tohru. Let's just leave it, ok?" She said sharply. Tohru looked at her friend's injured arm where the fanclub girl hurt. Rainie's arm was now bandaged up but it looked painful yet Rainie showed no signs of it and bravely stared at the wall even when she moved her arm.

The door opened and Yuki stepped in the room, closing the door. Rainie slowly raised her head to him. She hadn't talked to him since this morning and she tried to avoid seeing his face until now.

"Tohru?" Yuki said.

"Yeah Yuki-kun?"

"Could I talk to Rainie for a moment?" He asked. Tohru nodded and stood up quickly.

"Ok, I'll be in my room. I'll talk to you later, Rainie-kun!" As soon as Tohru left, there was a short silence before Rainie burst into tears. Yuki ran towards her and pulled Rainie into his arms and softly stroking her head.

"Yuki…" She whispered quietly.

"It's ok, I made sure those girls won't bother or even touch you again!" Yuki hoped his words were making an affect on her. Rainie pulled her head away. "It's not that…"

"What it is then?" He asked.

"Everything. Before I came here, you have to admit you had a simple life with no worries and now…someone is targeting me here and trying to destroy my life."

"Who is it?" He asked curiously. Rainie bit her lip; she just couldn't tell him it was Akito. Who knows what he would be willing to do? To stand up to someone like him?

"Yuki, did you tell anyone…about us or where we were going that night?" He stared at her blankly and then lowered his head. Yuki leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, he felt bad – really. Rainie noticed and looked away from him. "Who was it then?"

"I only told Kyo but he's not smart enough to use a camera, I know!"

"Thank you, Yuki." She said smiling as he wiped her eyes. He put his hand out and she took it, getting up and then she hugged him. Holding Rainie right there was making their hearts beat faster but it was relaxing in a way. He couldn't hold back what he felt…Yuki was in love with Rainie!

"Get some sleep, ok?" He told her stroking her cheek. Rainie nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek and then leaving. Yuki smiled to himself and then turned back to the kitchen counter looking for a snack.

The crumbled piece of paper caught his eye from near the bin on the floor. He picked it up and unveiled it. Was this the letter she was reading? Yuki knew he shouldn't read it but he hated to see her frown so much. Yuki loved it when she was singing, smiling and talking with everyone happily, he wanted to help.

He picked it up hesitantly and then began to read it…

-Upstairs-

"Are you feeling any better?" Tohru asked. Her hands were clasped together and looked at Rainie in worry.

Rainie smiled at Tohru; she was making sure other people's problems were sorted before her own. Rainie nodded at her concerned friend and gave her a hug. "I am and thank you, Tohru for making me feel better."

A knock on the door made the two friends quickly part and they walked downstairs just as Shigure was answering the door. A tall man stood at the door, he had white hair and wore a grey kimono – the man from Rainie's dream! Its…It's that guy! Why is he here?

"Master!" They heard Kyo say as he ran up to the man.

"Yes, it's been a while, Kazuma! How are you?" Shigure asked.

Kazuma smiled. "Yes it is. I am good." Kazuma looked at the stairs to Tohru and Rainie. "Ah! These must be the two ladies that I have heard about. A Ms. Tohru Honda and Ms. Rainie Asami, am I right?"

Shigure nodded. "Yes, Kazuma is a master of martial arts who runs a dojo near the Sohma compound. He has trained Hatsuharu, Kyo, Yuki and Kagura. That's why you see Kyo and Yuki fight so much."

Tohru nodded. "Yes, I am Tohru and this is…Rainie?" Rainie continued to stare at him but was unaware everyone was watching her. Why did he come? Did he know what Akito was planning? But the thoughts were making her feel ill and when she put Rainie's hand on her head.

"Rainie-kun, are you okay?" Tohru asked. Rainie returned back to reality and nodded in response. "You look pale. Maybe you should go upstairs and rest."

"Y-Yeah." She said walking back the stairs and into her room. She's that girl Akito was talking to me about, Kazuma thought as he walked into the next room with Kyo and the others.

Once there, Rainie dropped to the floor and started to breathe heavily. What was wrong with her? The room was spinning and tried to get to her feet but she was just too dizzy.

"Rain…ie…" She could hear a faint voice calling her name and then it all went black as she fell hard on the wooden floor.


	6. Kazuma's Presence

-Dream-

The rain began to pour even more heavily and dripped onto Rainie's face. She did not move an inch and neither did her on-lookers; Tohru, Yuki, Shigure, Hatori, the man Kazuma and the now smirked-face, Akito. There was nothing she could do; her secret was exposed and only the sound of heavy rain was heard.

Rainie closed her eyes as Akito's echoing laugh grew louder and louder at Rainie's misery, seeing someone else suffer must make him feel somewhat good. It continued to ring through her ears, this was too much. Opening one eye, Yuki caught her sight. His expressionless face like he had seen a ghost and had been frozen stiff made Rainie shut her eyes tightly, something about the way he was looking at her disturbed as if she was a freak…

-End of Dream-

Rainie shot up, a small towel that was placed on her forehead dropped onto the bed. She breathed heavily as she looked around, her emerald eyes scanning her surroundings and noticed she was in Tohru and her bedroom but how? Rainie could only remember her feeling faint and someone calling her name. But her dream….it bothered her so much. The dream…it's my destiny. Was Akito watching the whole time?

She thought and turning her gaze towards the window. Everything was normal around her, the birds were chirping happily and the cherry blossoms fell to the ground below her but still, something seemed wrong…

Maybe I can escape before they notice. Rainie tossed the covers off of her body and placed her feet onto the ground.

She paused the sound of footsteps was getting closer to the , she pulled the bed cover on her and pretended to be asleep before the door opened. "Rainie, are you awake?" She heard Yuki say and turned her body around from the wall to face him.

"Yeah." The ebony-haired girl whispered.

"Rainie?" Another voice said. Tohru's head popped around the corner and then she stopped into the room carrying two baskets. Rainie sat up and could see Shigure and Hatori right behind him. Tohru placed the two baskets on the side of the bed and lifted the flaps; one contained fruits and the other, muffins. "I made them by myself and I hope you feel better eating some." Rainie smiled and took the baskets with pleasure.

She looked at them all; each one of them cared for her and was worried. Rainie began to cry letting the brunette girl put her arm around her as the dark-haired girl put a brave face on her. "Thank you Tohru, everyone." She lied smiling and put a chocolate muffin into her mouth. "These are really delicious Tohru-kun, I'm feeling better already."

She looked at the two other men behind Tohru. "Where is Kyo?"

"He's downstairs with Kazuma." Hatori told her and proceeded closer to take her temperature. "You seem to be doing fine. Shigure?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I talk to Rainie for a moment? I want to ask her the cause of her collapse."

Shigure didn't expect a thing and being the cheerful guy he was, the zodiac dog smiled and began brushing Yuki and Tohru out. "Let's go and leave the doctor to make Rainie better!" And they left with the two teenagers able to say goodbye. There was a moment of silence before Hatori looked up at her.

"You realise what you have done has angered Akito." Rainie looked away and answered with a quiet "Yes."

"Your health is going to be fine, Rainie. You just need to rest up in bed for a few more hours. And, I don't mean to scare you but, Akito…may be coming in a few hours to decide your fate. I'm sorry."

Rainie did not panic just nodded. The fact was she knew Akito was coming soon, her dreams told her enough. No matter what, she would have to face it. Rainie would have to see if Yuki and the others would truly accept her now. He had seen it in her dreams and Rainie was also worried for Yuki.

"By the way," Hatori said. "Have you noticed how awfully close Kyo has been with Tohru? Whatever has happened since you've been here has made an affect on her." Rainie looked at him for a moment and then lowered her head, unable to talk. She had forgotten about Kyo. Rainie had seen the orange-haired boy's bracelet being removed from Kazuma in her dreams but she thought it was because they hated each other when in fact they were so close like a father and his son.

"Hatori, I know you are only warning me but I have to ask you, was it you who took the pictures of me and Yuki that day? Did you tell him about our visit there?"

He stood still and then stood up. "Yes. I did tell him about your visit, that day but I did not know about the picture. Akito hired someone to watch you after school that day and when he came back, they showed it to me." Hatori noticed her saddened expression. "What is it?"

Rainie shook her head. "Nothing. Could I have some time to think?"

"Sure. Don't forget to take this." He said, smiling weakly at Rainie and leaving a glass of water with a tablet beside it. Rainie picked up the tablet and put it in her mouth, literally grabbing the glass and drinking the water quickly. She knew through that smile, Hatori was hiding a lot; the man she once trusted, the person she once thought was kind and had been like a brother to her – she felt deceived.

"Rainie?" She heard Yuki call her from the door. He came in and closed the door. "You ok?"

She smiled; the Zodiac Rat was probably the closest she could talk to now. "Yeah, that you're here."

"I need to talk to you." He said seriously. "About earlier – in the kitchen. What was that letter?"

"What are you talking about?"

Yuki pulled the letter out of his pocket and gave it to the dark-haired girl. "You tell me, what is the meaning of this?!" He shouted, anger was burning inside of him, this was the girl he cared deeply about and she was keeping secrets from him.

"Oh that." She averted his gaze and looked outside. "Akito made me agree on one thing before I was allowed to live with you. He made me promise…not to fall in love with either you or Kyo let alone date you."

His eyes widened. "What? W-Why?"

"He believes it is for the safety of everyone living here."

"I don't want anything to happen to you and I…I love you, Rainie." Yuki told her and held Rainie's hand tightly. He…loves me! She thought and frowned.

"I don't know what to say, Yuki. I can't decide that, only Akito can. But no matter what, I do want to battle with you." He smiled and gently placed a kiss on his lips and she kissed him back. He brushed his fingers through his fingers through her hair.

"That doesn't make sense! Why are you a threat to me?"

"I'm not a normal person, I…change, that's why at times, and I can hug you."

"I…I…"

"Yuki." Hatori's voice made Rainie jump; both teenagers looked at the door to see the Zodiac Dragon standing tall, an expressionless face he always had. "We should leave Rainie to sleep."

The purple-haired boy nodded and left but not before giving Rainie a slow and long look of sadness and worry in his eyes. She lowered her head and laid down turning her gaze towards the wall. Things between them were not going well and she had no idea how to tell him about her secret.

All Rainie could do now was stay in bed and watch the world go by from the window, the cherry blossom tree was mostly in her view. She caught Kyo and Tohru out the window talking and it made her smile. I wonder if Tohru has told him how she felt yet. She wondered, slowly she began to drift into a deep sleep but this time, no dream occurred.

A few hours later, she awoke. Rainie pulled the blankets off of her and sat up looking outside the window. The weather had changed drastically; white clouds had quickly begun to turn dark. What's going on? "Rainie." Her head jerked around to the door where Hatori stood, he looked sad. "Come."

"But…"

He put his hand up for her to stop. "You must come now." Rainie did not waste time and walked down the stairs quickly following Hatori outside. She noticed Kyo and the man, Kazuma grabbing onto his arm.

"I'm sorry but," She heard Kazuma say to Kyo, he pulled the Zodiac Cat's arm and quickly pulled his arm and quickly took Kyo's beaded bracelet from him. "…this is for your own good." Rain began to pour from the sky and as predicted from Rainie's dream, Kyo dropped onto his knees and began to scream in pain.

Rainie ran to Kyo's side but Yuki pulled her away. She looked at Kazuma. "Why won't you help him?"

"Only one person can help him and accept him." He told her. "But first, she has to face Kyo in his true form."

"And so do you." A sudden voice that always made Rainie shiver. She turned around for a while and gasped.

"Akito?!" The dark-haired man didn't look too happy at her. "It's time! You made your decision that night and now you're going to hate your life forever."


	7. A Horrible Fate

"What's going on out he…?" Shigure raced outside but his voice trailed off as he saw Akito with Rainie, his expression changed to a more calming face and smiled at the zodiac dog fooling him completely. Tohru was behind him and they both noticed Kyo on the ground, motionless with Kazuma in front of the orange-haired boy.

"Ah Shigure!" Akito said kindly. "Can you fetch everyone in the house for me?" He asked Shigure and then looked at Rainie. "Someone has a secret they would like to share." And he left quickly, fooled by Akito's words. Tohru took a step forward and looked from Rainie to Kyo – something was wrong with him as he was just curled up into a ball. The rain – as if on cue – began to fall softly and could be heard from the rooftops as they waited patiently.

After a moment, the silence was broken by the sound of footsteps coming from the house. Tohru hardly turned her head and instead Rainie and Akito did. Yuki, Hatori and Shigure looked at the situation around them. "What's going on here?" Hatori asked looking at Akito. "Kazuma? Akito?" Kyo's teacher walked up to the three and quietly explained.

But because of this, Rainie wanted to know and she began to walk towards them but felt Akito pull her back. This caught Yuki's attention. "Where do you think you're going, Rainie?" The Head Sohma told her. He looked at where Yuki was. "Looks like he's curious to know what's going on too!" Akito smirked; he held the ebony-haired girl and pushed him to the ground. A pool of mud splashed onto her, Rainie tried wiping it off her face with her sleeves and hated the fact that Akito was laughing at her.

"She knew this was coming to her and I warned her, now you will all see what her secret is." Akito said and pointed towards her. "Observe: Rainie and Kyo's true form!"

"No, please…" She pleaded, tears pouring out of her eyes. But it was too late; Akito had already blown the whistle, causing Rainie to scream and fall to her knees just like Kyo but only she didn't move.

Rainie's skin began to change colour like deep blue and became dry and scaly. Her feet changed to a mermaid's tail and her hands webbed. The worst part was the transformation of Rainie's face; her ebony hair was now filled with blue vipers each disguised as a curly piece of her hair, the only thing that did stop change about her was eyes, they stayed green.

Her tail made her hover from the ground and stand upright. What's going on here? Yuki thought. Tohru's eyes were completely focused on both Kyo and Rainie but mostly at the orange-haired boy; the smell was sickening like something had been rotting forever. His skin was turning brown and the only piece of clothing he wore was his cream-coloured tracksuit bottoms. His body form had evolved to a lizard/dog creature – the cat's true form.

Rainie looking back at the others; Shigure looked serious, Tohru was scared, Rainie could tell and Yuki…he also looked scared and shocked, his purple eyes showed fear and it made Rainie even more afraid. She couldn't take this.

"Stop looking at me!" She yelled and using her tail as if she was in water, to fly away into the forest behind Shigure's house as did Kyo but he was only noticed by the brunette. Yuki and Tohru stood there in awe; they had fallen for…monsters. They ran to the side of the house and threw up what was most of their breakfast.

Yuki looked back at the forest where Rainie and Kyo ran into, he remembered Akito's words but the purple-haired boy still wanted to find them. He pulled Tohru's arm towards the forest, her face was pale white. "Come on, we're going in to find them."

At first, she looked at him, long and hard before nodding and walking towards the forest with Yuki...

-Somewhere in the Forest-

Sat on a nearby rock and gazing at the floor, the forest was silent, only the soft brushes of leaves hitting the ground were only sounds around her. She hated Akito for what he did and now, she had to spend her life in hiding. Rainie wouldn't be able to taste Tohru's cooking, Shigure's teasing or Yuki's smile…

She wondered what they were doing now. He said he loved me. Rainie thought, remembering what he said this morning. But what now? Could he really love a beast like me? Tears began to escape out of her eyelids as she mumbled. "I'm a hideous creature." It must be horrible for him to see me like this.

Rainie suddenly froze as a rustling sound came from the bushes. It became louder as it approached her. The sound ceased when a brown creature came out wearing brown combat trousers and growled at the sight of her. She recognized the creature's eyes and who it was by its brown eyes. "Kyo?" The lizard creature stopped growling when he heard his name. "It's you, isn't it?"

"Wh-Who are you?" He asked.

"It's me – Rainie." She told the Zodiac Cat.

He noticed the creature was in fact Rainie by her emerald eyes. "You too, Kyo? Changed?" He nodded because as they transformed, they did not look at the other person because the people they loved were looking at them that they could only think about this.

"I was right next to you, Akito did it for some reason and now…I just can't look Yuki in the eye."

"You're the not only one." Rainie looked at him. "You mean Tohru?" He nodded.

Tohru and Yuki began to walk, not saying another word to each other. Tohru had been so confused before. Rainie didn't know why Kazuma had taken off Kyo's bracelet and Akito blew the whistle that changed Rainie. The whistle was bothering Yuki so much, what was its purpose on Rainie? Why did she turn into that creature?

-Tohru and Yuki-

"We have to find them." Yuki heard Tohru whisper. "Don't you miss them Yuki?" He nodded and it was true that "stupid cat" he envied.

He nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"Look!" Tohru pointed forward and there, they could see two creatures; one had a fish tail and one looked like it was of lizard and dragon form; it was definitely Rainie and Kyo.

"Let's go get them!"

-Rainie and Kyo-

"She saw me, Rainie!" Kyo said, sitting on the ground. "…and now, Tohru will never look at me again."

So, does he really love her? She wanted to know so badly. "Kyo, you love Tohru, don't you?" She whispered. The cat turned his gaze away and nodded. "How long has it been?"

"A few weeks before you came." He told her before looking back at her again. "What about you? Are you the same with Yuki?"

Rainie lowered her head, she was still unsure. "I don't know, Yuki only recently told me his feelings but I have no idea whatsoever what I think." Her emerald eyes stared at her gruesome webbed, scaly hands. "I don't think he'll even accept me anyways."

"Kyo! Rainie!" The ebony-haired girl and Zodiac Cat recognized those voices immediately and looked at each other. Rainie stood and darted towards the tree and hid behind it.

The Zodiac Cat began to flee, though he loved Tohru, Kyo did not want her to once again gaze at his hideous self and the smell was revolting. But Yuki was too fast for him, the Zodiac Rat had always been. He grabbed Kyo and pulled him back, making them both fall into the muddy ground, but still the Zodiac Cat did not care. "Let go!" Kyo yelled but couldn't shake him off. It was no use, he looked at his left and saw Rainie behind the tree and tried to mouth-read for her to help him.

She stayed frozen and shook her head. Tohru however, couldn't just stand there and watch any longer. "No! Kyo, stop!" She ran up to him and interlocked her hands around the back of his neck and cried. Yuki's grip on Kyo loosed and he stood back, watching the two.

Tohru wasn't afraid of his form anymore. "Kyo." She said softly, tears clouded her eyesight and fell to the ground. "Don't go!" Then she suddenly placed her lips onto his softly and then afterwards, he kissed her back. They embraced the kiss with pleasure, the rain ceased as they broke apart. "Let's go home please. I…" She took a deep breath. "…I love you; I've just…never been able to say it."

Kyo and Yuki stood stunned; but before Kyo could reply, he noticed himself changing. Because the rain had stopped, his skin was pale, eyes had gone back to orange and he only wore his now shredded, brown combat trousers. He pulled Tohru into an embrace. "Thank you."

Once he let go, Tohru stared at it for a while, unsure of what to do or what to say especially why he said, 'Thank you' but smiled instead. "Shall we go?"

Kyo nodded and then held Tohru's hand. They stopped and looked back at Yuki, though the Zodiac Cat quickly looked back at the tree where he knew Rainie was hiding. "Are you coming?"

"You guys go on ahead. I am going to get Rainie back no matter what." He told them and watched them go back, now onto Rainie…He thought, watching Kyo and Tohru walk in the direction back to Shigure's house.


	8. Secrets Unveiled

Rainie watched as Tohru and Kyo went back in the direction of the house hand-in-hand while Yuki stood there for a few minutes and then looked up at the tree. She smiled; The Zodiac Cat was going to be okay and she could only pray they were going to have a nice life together. For all she knew, they deserved it especially Kyo.

Her attention then turned to Yuki whose view had turned towards the tree she hid in. "I know you're up there! Rainie, can you hear me?" The Zodiac Rat yelled, he sounded as if he was trembling or scared of her but he tried not too because deep down, Yuki wanted her to come back just as Tohru and Kyo were doing. "Come down already!"

"I terrified you, didn't I?" Rainie asked as she took a peek from where she hid behind the tree so Yuki could only see half of her face. "We can't be together. I'm a freak, you heard Akito's words."

Yuki shook his head in disbelief. "You are not and I don't believe Akito, he is only there to make people feel bad about themselves, do not listen to him." Yuki sounded so confident but for some reason, Rainie didn't believe it.

She appeared from the tree and hovered to the ground towards the purple-haired boy, landing a few steps away from him. Yuki seemed startled by her appearance so she covered herself with her arms. "If you can't look at me Yuki, don't look at me at all." She whispered, putting her hands down and turning her back to him. Rainie held her left arm; it was cold and felt like snakeskin that made her shiver. "I'm not the girl you once knew. I'm a beast."

"Don't say that." Yuki told her, walking a little closer. "There is no reason for you to hide away who you really are. I don't care what Akito said, you are still beautiful even if you are stuck this way." He pulled her towards him and held her even though Rainie dreaded the thought of Yuki touching her scaly skin, but now it was as if he seemed to care. "Beauty isn't everything you know and I don't care if Akito is doing this to keep us apart. He'll have to try harder."

"Yuki…" She whispered and pulled him off of her softly, it made her blush because no-one would touch her when she looked like this, the three other people who had blown the whistle was her parents and Akito twice, not one of them touched her until she changed back. The fact that he was willing to stay with her was surprising but at the same time, made her happy deep inside.

"But, I want to know." He said. "What is the whistle?"

"The whistle is what changes me. I tried to destroy it but…it doesn't work. If it is blown for the third and final time, I will be stuck this way for who knows how long." She told her. "This…is my third time, before I would only be like this for a few hours, but now permanently."

"I see." He said. "Can I still ask you…how you got the curse in the first place?" The rat asked.

"The curse runs in my family. The soul of a great sea witch, Ursula was in a battle with one of my ancestors that I can't remember. At first when she was defeated, Ursula's soul needed a body so it immediately went for my ancestor's body showing Ursula's form inside him. The villagers were scared of him and barricaded him into his own house. An alchemist came and fashioned a device to trap the soul." She explained. "It successfully captured the soul however because it was feeding off my ancestor's body, he died. They gave the whistle to his distant cousin and it has been passed down since then."

"I see." The Zodiac Rat said while he began to walk towards her but when she noticed, Rainie took a step back but still he kept on.

"Yuki…I've also been having some dreams. Some that tell me what happens in the future. I foresaw what was going today, that's why I may have acted a bit strange in the last few days. I'm sorry." She told him and bowed a little. "Yuki…I…"

She didn't finish that sentence however when Yuki looked at her with a serious face. "Rainie, I don't care anymore or what anyone said. I will protect you. I promise." Then without giving Rainie a chance to speak, the Zodiac Rat pulled her close into an embrace. Her scaly hands rested on his torso and her head on Yuki's shoulder, she made sure the snakes resting on her head were planning not to move or bite him, "Didn't I tell you, that I loved you?" He finally said.

"Yes." She said quietly, remembering what he told her today.

-Flashback: This Morning-

Yuki pulled the letter out of his pocket and gave it to the dark-haired girl. "You tell me, what is the meaning of this?!" He shouted, anger was burning inside of him, this was the girl he cared deeply about and she was keeping secrets from him.

"Oh that." She averted his gaze and looked outside. "Akito made me agree on one thing before I was allowed to live with you. He made me promise…not to fall in love with either you or Kyo let alone date you."

His eyes widened. "What? W-Why?"

"He believes it is for the safety of everyone living here."

"I don't want anything to happen to you and I…I love you, Rainie." Yuki told her and held Rainie's hand tightly. He…loves me! She thought and frowned.

"I don't know what to say, Yuki. I can't decide that, only Akito can. But no matter what, I do want to battle with you." He smiled and gently placed a kiss on his lips and she kissed him back. He brushed his fingers through his fingers through her hair.

-End of Flashback-

"Well, I still do, I love you." She wept into his shirt and did not bother to let the tears run down her face. "I can't believe you still do. I'm hideous yet…" Rainie paused looking at purple eyes and smiled while still crying. "…it makes me happy when you say that. I…I love you too."

She broke away from him, a sudden bubbly feeling arose in Rainie's stomach, she pulled away from him instantly and a bright, white light surrounded her body slowly covering up every visible part of the ebony-haired girl's body including her face. Then, all at once, the white light erupted causing a strong wind to block anyone's sight all around, Yuki managed to shield his eyes and when it ceased, he looked back checking if she was okay and gasped.

Rainie was human once more. "Yuki, you did it!" She whispered happily. "You broke it!" He blushed. Although he was glad, there was one thing missing and that's Rainie's clothes!

"Uh, Rainie?"

"Yeah?"

"Your…uh…well…" Rainie broke away from him and then felt the wind on her skin was very cold. She put her hands around and blushed madly while shivering until the ebony-haired girl felt something warm over her. Rainie opened her eyes and saw it was Yuki's coat! Luckily, it was long enough to cover her entire body. Together, they let a small chuckle surprising her. "Let's go back!" Yuki said.

"One last thing," Rainie turned around, dropping the whistle and then stepping on it, this time, this time the whistle finally broke. A white light appeared and slowly began to drift towards the heavens with a quiet voice saying, Thank you; I can now rest in peace.

Is that, was that just my ancestor? "Rainie?" Yuki called. She turned to look at him and smiled. "I think everything is going to be ok now. Let's go!"


	9. One Last Visit

The next morning, things seemed to be back to normal as they all sat together. It seemed like everything was going back to normal, until Rainie proposed something. "You want to what?" Yuki said, interested in Rainie's answer.

"You heard me. I want to go and see Akito – one last time; I have some things to say." Kyo, Tohru and Shigure looked up from eating.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, I mean…" Shigure advised her and put down his chopsticks. "…don't you think it is best for you two to stay hidden? Let him have the idea that you two are still in your forms and lost in the forest. But it's not forever; he's…going to die soon."

"I know I should but wasn't there a time when he was with someone? I know…he got forced to break up with that person."

Rainie stared at Shigure. "He's going to…die?"

Yuki nodded. "Yes, when Akito was placed Head of the Sohma Family, he was also placed with a different curse – Akito is to die young sometime this year."

The Zodiac Rat looked at Shigure and Kyo. "It will be better once he's gone." Kyo said quietly.

"What?" Tohru asked.

"He gets in the way." He mumbled. Tohru looked at Kyo for a few seconds thinking and then turned around at Rainie.

"Me too, I'm with Rainie on this." Tohru spoke up. "I think Akito should be ok with each of us being together, it's not fair too."

Kyo stood up. "But you know you can't!"

"Thanks Tohru-kun!" Rainie said happily, both girls smiled at each other. "Let's go after breakfast, ok?"

Shigure sighed. Only 24 hours ago, they have decided to keep Kyo and Rainie – in the house for the next two weeks and when it was all clear, they could just go back to school and get on with their lives. Rainie told them everything about her curse and revealed past.

Everyone understood immediately but when Shigure told him that Akito and Hatori left shortly after and once told this, Rainie seemed to be in deep thought and very quiet until now. The Zodiac Dog stood up. "If you want to go, then that's fine but I'm still coming with you to be making sure everything is ok. I'll go call Hatori and tell him we are being expected.

-Main Sohma House-

Entering Akito's chamber, they noticed the Head Sohma sitting outside, back against the wall, a bird stood on the edge of his finger and flew away. "So, what brings you four here?" Akito asked, his red kimono hung loose as he walked over and kneeled in front of them, the four teenagers gazed at the floor avoiding eye contact with him. "Don't worry, I won't get mad." He told them, putting his fingers onto the wooden floor.

"We want to ask you for permission to be together; Yuki and I, Tohru and Kyo." Rainie told him.

"I see." It was all he could say, his fingernails gripping the wood and leaving scratch marks. Akito watched them for a while before bending over in front of Rainie and letting out a quiet chuckle.

"What makes you think you can get away with it? Huh?" Akito yelled, tightly gripping her hair. Hatori and Shigure tried to pull his arms from further hurting Rainie but it wasn't working. "Do you think I would let you do something like this so easily? You're wrong!" Yuki looked up in horror along with Tohru and Kyo, he knew he couldn't do anything however, Akito was hurting his girlfriend.

The rat stood up and grabbed his arm from her. "Get off of her!" He demanded.

"Yuki…" He heard Rainie say. "I can handle this…" Yuki had to believe her; he loosened his grip from Akito and sat back down, the Head Sohma laughed at this.

"Do you really think you can trust her words, Yuki? You're just going to leave her like this?"

"I have to trust her."

"And you believe it?"

"Yuki trusts me, Akito." Rainie said quietly, though the pain of him grabbing her hair tightly was hurting her. "When you love someone, not only do you show affection and care for them, you also must trust their words." She explained. "Didn't you ever love someone Akito? Someone who you wanted to be with but couldn't because of your curse? Someone like Sayaka?" Akito's eyes widened and he suddenly let go of her.

"H-how did you know…about her?"

"Her name is Sayaka, wasn't it?"

Akito stopped and then froze. "How did you know?" He asked and suddenly grew angrier. Akito grabbed her hair pulling it even harder. "I asked you a question so answer me!"

He remained quiet as Rainie continued to search his eyes for any objection but found none. "I saw it in my dreams when I first lived here, I just never said anything. "Your eyes tell me you used too but she died. You don't have to say what happened. I had a dream a few weeks back." She told him. "You and Sayaka were in love once, right? Before you became the Head of the Sohma Family, you were a kind and caring person."

She paused as his grip loosened. "You saw Sayaka everyday secretly but when your parents found out before they died, they ordered a hit on her. A day when you were about to propose but instead when she was driving to your place, a car smashed into hers and killed her."

Rainie looked up at his eyes; they were filled with sadness and guilt than anger. He trembled; Akito sank to the floor and banged his fist hard. He was being quiet, too quiet now but only because his past had caught up with him and made him a fool.

-Flashback: Two Years Ago: Akito's Past Life-

He remembered it so clearly…

A teenage boy of about fifteen leaned against a wall holding a small box in his hand and was patiently waiting for his girlfriend. Akito was that boy; his long, silky black hair blew in the soft summer breeze. The sun shone brightly and the atmosphere seemed comfortably around him.

It was only just yesterday when he last saw his quiet beauty, Sayaka Hinano and had told her he was bringing something special for her. She had jet-black hair and jade eyes, same age as Akito and described as a gentle character. He could just imagine Sayaka's face at the sight of the box; she would have so many questions about it, how speechless and happy she would be when she saw it.

He looked at his watch once more; 2:49, she was late. 'Strange', he thought. 'She's never late.' A drop of water splashed onto his head, then another…and another. Akito turned his gaze up to the sky and noticed it was starting to rain. Why? He watched the weather report and predicted sunny.

Akito waited for a few more hours and after a while, he gave up and walked home. He was angry and wondered why she had stood him up. 'It better be good a reason why she left me out in the cold. It's very unlike her.' Akito pulled out his phone and began to call her, only it went straight to voicemail.

What he didn't know was that somewhere nearby, Sayaka had been killed…

-End of Flashback-

"She had green eyes…and black hair just like you." He said quietly. "That's why when I first met you, I thought you were Sayaka so at first, I started treating you as I would have treated her but when I remembered that day and being told of her death, that's when I became cold and…" He stopped and looked at everyone in the room. "You may all go. Go to the people you love. Leave me to die in peace."

"No, Akito." Rainie called. "We'll all help you instead. You're not going to die without enjoying the rest of your life. Won't we?" She looked at everyone else for a moment. Somehow, Rainie's spirit had grown stronger, Akito had noticed. Why was she helping him?

"I'll help." Yuki said quietly. "I won't normally say this, but if Rainie is helping, so will I."

"Me too." Tohru replied. "There are still a lot of things for you to do."

"I'm in too." Kyo, Shigure and Hatori said in unison. Rainie looked at the three boys and mouthed a thank you to them.

Akito let out a small smile. "Thank you. But for today, I would like to be alone, you may go – all of you." They all nodded and left, approaching the gate.

"Rainie." Hatori called before saying goodbye to them.

"Hm?"

"Thank you." He said and smiled. "Now, we can all finally be happy." He told her and walked away with Shigure, Kyo and Tohru behind him. However, his answer left her confused. All…be happy? I don't understand.

"What do you mean, Hatori?" She asked.

Yuki nodded; a big cheery smile on his face. "I think Hatori means that he knows that everything is going to go every well from here on." He told her. "Hey Rainie?"

"Yeah Yuki?"

He held up a key to her. "I have a spare key here for my new apartment back at the . Do you…want to move in with me?" He asked. Move in with Yuki? She thought and then looked back at him; Rainie couldn't hold her happiness any longer.

"Yes!" She hugged him instantly and took the key. She looked back at his face; he seemed to be looking at the sky. "Are you ok?" Rainie whispered.

Yuki nodded at Rainie. "Yeah, everything is okay and it's going to be forever." Rainie raised her eyebrow at the Zodiac Rat wondering what he could mean but before she could answer, he kissed her once again and then hugged her again.

They let go of each other and began walking towards the others, hand-in hand. Because thanks to Rainie and help from Tohru, the curse, had been broken…

-Ten Years Later-

"Daddy!" A little boy around the age of three with purple hair came running presently towards an older-looking Yuki who had just come from work; her face sparkled with the delight of his presence.

"Hey there Kazumi! Where's your mother?" He asked his son and picked him up.

"Right here!" An older Rainie put her ebony hair into a ponytail and smiled at her husband's arrival. "Welcome home." She told him and gave him a soft kiss on the lips before they all walked into the house together…


End file.
